DANVERS, MASS. (WHDH) - Parents packed the Danvers School Committee meeting Monday after a varsity high school hockey player raised allegations of hazing, sexual assault, and racism.
The hockey player told school officials in June of 2020 that he was repeatedly hit in the face with a sex toy when he refused to shout a racial slur. In another locker room ritual called “Gay Tuesdays,” the player said the team stripped and he was touched inappropriately.
“I am beyond disgusted by the actions of the hockey team,” one parent said during the meeting.
When the allegations surfaced, School Committee members said it hired an investigator and referred the matter to police.
“I think that the issue again really is what did we do with the information?” School Committee Chairman Eric Crane said. “This perception that we were not upfront. we weren’t talking about what went on is really simply not accurate.”
Crane says the committee openly discussed the allegations during meetings dating back to fall 2020; however, he added that they did not provide parents with specific details in the interest of student safety.
Committee member Arthur Skarmeas said that “No one ever emailed me, reached out to me, not one person, when we were trying to get people involved in the investigation.”
Parents say they were also never notified.
Now that the allegations are known, parents say they’re upset with how the situation was handled.
“This was handled poorly,” one parent said. “I don’t have confidence in the superintendent nor in the committee members who were involved in this long-term investigation and I asked that they resign.”
The new principal at the high school said all students undergo inclusion and diversity training.
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