By City News Service
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A former member of theĀ La PuenteĀ High School soccerĀ team -- which last year became the focus of sexually oriented hazingĀ allegations -- filed suit on ThursdayĀ against the HaciendaĀ La PuenteĀ Unified SchoolĀ District.
Luis Enrique Hernandez brought his complaint in Los Angeles SuperiorĀ Court, also naming soccer coach Bahram Alavi andĀ La PuenteĀ High AssistantĀ Principal Fernando Sanchez. He alleges sexual battery, sexual harassment, falseĀ imprisonment, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit seeks unspecified damages. Interim HLPUSD Supt. Cynthia Parulan-Ā Colfer did not immediately return a call for comment.
According to the complaint, Hernandez joined the soccer team in NovemberĀ 2011 and immediately afterward was ``physically attacked and sexuallyĀ assaulted by fellow teammates in a tradition of initiating new players into theĀ varsity soccer team that demanded sexual compliance.''
The assault, which included sodomy, was part of a hazing practice calledĀ the ``pole tradition,'' the suit states.
The initiation has been a tradition with the high school's soccer teamĀ for more than a decade, the suit states. The practice was "performed in theĀ team's locker room with Alavi hearing the screams of students in his office,Ā which is adjacent to the locker room,'' according to the lawsuit.
The behavior occurred due to the negligent supervision of Sanchez, theĀ suit states.
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