A claim seeking more than $3 million has been filed against the Upland Unified School District after a member of the junior varsity baseball team said he was sexually assaulted by varsity players inside the locker room as part of rampant hazing on the team.
The claim says that the head coach, Aldo Garbick, did not allow freshman and junior varsity players to use the locker room, forcing them to change into practice clothes outside or in the dugout. Varsity players would take the others’ gym bags into the locker room, and when the others would attempt to retrieve their property, varsity players would “take this opportunity to haze, bully, harass and sexually abuse students,” the claim says. “The varsity team tormented the JV team and freshman team by hazing them.”
Garbick knew about the hazing and ignored it, the claim says.
The claim was filed in May for an attack that attorney Elan Zektser said happened in February. The claim is a legally required precursor to a lawsuit.
On Feb. 14, the student filing the claim attempted to get his property out of the locker room. A varsity player put him in a headlock and held him down, the claim says. Then another player simulated sex with him through clothing and a third pushed a plastic pipe into his rectum area, according to the claim.
Players visually recorded this and other attacks and shared the recordings with teammates via text messages, the claim says.
The hazing was reported to the school when a parent saw one of the recordings, Zektser said.
In a written statement attributed to Superintendent Lynn Carmen Day, the district said it hired an outside investigator who is questioning players, coaches and administrators.
“Our district leaders are taking this situation very seriously,” the statement said. “The district will continue to take appropriate disciplinary actions as necessary.”
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Day did not respond to questions from a reporter that are not answered in the statement, such as when and how the school or district learned of the allegations, whether it complied with state laws on mandated reporting of suspected sexual abuse and what Garbick’s status is.
Upland High athletic director Bo Whieldon did say that he is looking for a new baseball coaching staff; the district jobs webpage lists openings for varsity head and assistant coaches, junior varsity coach and freshman coach.
A reporter called Garbick’s home to provide an opportunity for him to speak on his own behalf. The person who answered the phone did not identify himself and referred the reporter to the district.
Sgt. Jacob Kirk, a spokesman for the Upland Police Department, said detectives investigated the attack and did not make any arrests. Kirk said the department is now deferring to the district investigation.
The district has 45 days from the date of receipt to accept or reject the claim.
Staff Writer Pete Marshall contributed to this story.
