PROCTOR, Minn. 鈥� Nearly a year after it was first reported, the family of the victim in a hazing incident following a 2021 Proctor football practice are suing the school district and the former superintendent and coaching staff.
The lawsuit filed in federal district court Friday makes several allegations regarding a Sept. 6, 2021, incident following practice that resulted in the cancellation of football season, a and the . Baney, 18, was sentenced in June to supervised probation until his 21st birthday after pleading guilty in juvenile court to a felony count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
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Following the practice last fall, Baney sexually assaulted the victim with a plunger while several other teammates held him down.
The News Tribune is not naming the victim's parents in keeping with its policy of withholding the identity of sexual assault victims.
The suit alleges that 鈥減rior to, and during鈥� Parendo鈥檚 time as coach there was a 鈥減revalent practice鈥� of hazing rituals involving a toilet plunger. The practice allegedly included using the rubber portion to touch a victim鈥檚 genital area. Another practice included 鈥渦rinating into the concave portion鈥� of the plunger, suctioning it to the ceiling and asking an unsuspecting player to pull it down, the lawsuit claims.
The practice was brought to the attention of the district, former Superintendent John Engelking, the activities director and guidance counselors 鈥渙n multiple occasions over the course of many years,鈥� according to the complaint.
In addition, the district allegedly instructed Parendo prior to last year's incident to remove the plunger from the locker room and advise the team hazing would not be tolerated.
The suit alleges the district and Parendo did not take 鈥渁dequate measures鈥� to remove the plunger from the locker room and ensure that hazing activities ceased.
The suit acknowledges Parendo was not at the Sept. 6 practice and it was conducted by unnamed assistants.
After the weather ended the practice early, the assistants did not remain at the facility while the players changed. After a brief chase, the victim was tackled and held down by several players while another sexually assaulted him with the plunger, the complaint said.
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The assault was 鈥渙ffensive, unwanted and interfered with鈥� the victim鈥檚 educational environment and deprived him of the educational opportunities provided by the district.
The complaint also alleges that all the defendants 鈥渃ondoned student-on-student sexual and physical鈥� harassment by downplaying the incidents and failing to educate staff and student-athletes about the dangers of hazing.
The victim 鈥渟uffered embarrassment, humiliation, fear of retaliation, intimidation, breach of trust, anxiety, depression, pain and suffering,鈥� according to the complaint.
The family is seeking at least $75,000 in damages.
Parendo, who filed to run for Proctor 歪歪漫画 Board on Aug. 16, declined to comment for this article. A message left with Engelking was not returned.
A 2021 News Tribune investigation found a pattern of harassment and bullying by Proctor football players stretching back nearly 30 years, but no incidents involved a toilet plunger.
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