Orchard Lake School is responding to the lawsuit, which highlights a number of allegations of sexual assault

The city of West Bloomfield, Mich. – A lawsuit filed by a father and son claims that students at Metro Detroit High School attacked him and forced his son to participate in sexualized games during a 2019 retreat.

The father, a longtime teacher at St. Mary’s Preparatory in Orchard Lake, and her son, a student, filed a lawsuit showing a series of sexualized games allegedly played by school sports students. The lawsuit alleges that when his son chose not to participate in the games, the other students attacked him.

“The main example, as claimed in the complaint, is empty bowling: where I put soap and water on the entire floor of a shower and then throw empty bodies at each other. All the boys there. And they are left alone to do that, “said Bob Palmer, the father’s and son’s lawyer in the case against St. Mary’s officials.

“One of my clients didn’t want to participate and was actually attacked in his room, grabbed … tried to shoot him and gave in,” Palmer added.

Ad

Both father and son claim that Orchard Lake Catholic School knew about the so-called empty games the boys played at the school’s annual “Kairos Retreat” at the Colombiere Retreat Center in Clarkston – but would have done nothing to stop it. The lawsuit alleges that when the son did not want any of the games, the other students dragged him out of his room and tried to undress him – which lawyer Palmer says was essentially a sexual assault.

“When everyone is naked and you throw naked bodies with body parts exposed against other individuals, and when you grab someone in his room and all he has is a pair of panties and you grab his thighs and stomach and grab him under cover. … I definitely think that’s it, ”Palmer said, describing the boy’s experience.

The alleged incident took place in the spring of 2019.

In a statement, St. Mary’s Prep said: “The administration conducted an investigation immediately after learning of these allegations, which was overseen by a member of our Council. We are confident that once this information is made public, it will prove that the school has acted in a completely appropriate manner. ”

Ad

Palmer says that when his son’s father complained about the incident, he was fired as a high school teacher.

“It’s kind of ironic that the person who was assaulted is the teacher’s son – they’re both there,” Palmer said. “It’s an interesting case, because both have been severely affected by this set of events.”

Stephen Gross, chairman of the Orchard Lake School Board of Regents, responded:

“Although it would be inappropriate to comment on the dismissal of any employee, there are several false accusations made in this process. We plan to present the truth in court. “

More: Local Reports 4 Defenders