New information has surfaced concerning the 2010 hazing case involving former members of the Carmel Clay High School basketball team. Attorneys representing the alleged victim are accusing the school district of destroying key evidence as they pursue a civil case.
"That motion contains some pretty strong accusations against Carmel Clay Schools personnel, and they are basically alleging that someone tampered with the tape of the school bus evidence," said Jack Crawford, an Indianapolis attorney who weighed in on the case.
Attorneys representing the teenager who made the accusations would not comment on the case citing a gag order. They did, however, make it clear that they believe the school district took illegal action: "The defendant purposefully and intentionally caused the concealment, deletion and destruction of the bus #50 hard drive video footage.”
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"It involved a physical grabbing, a confinement to the point where he was held down, the removal of clothing, and in general, I would say, anal penetration," said Robert Turner in 2010. Turner, an Indianapolis attorney, was representing the teen during the criminal court proceedings and his firm, currently, is handling the civil litigation.
"Sometimes things are not pleasant, what you find, but it's still going to be a better day if the truth comes out," said the mother of the assault victim during a press conference in 2010.
The teen's attorneys claim there are conflicting reports from school officials about when the video footage, which is stored on a hard drive on the bus, was uploaded onto the school district's computer network.
They believe it occurred on Feb. 10, 2010, two days after the teen reported the incident to a coach. However, some school officials went on record claiming the tape was not removed until the 16th.
Also in question is which school officials accessed the video and why it was deleted.
An expert called by the teen victim was only able to recover some of the video evidence. In the motion, they wrote: "There is no explanation why only six segments of the hard drive video footage, including the seven minutes of the sexual assault, were permanently deleted.”
"This is just an allegation, and it remains to be seen what really happened," said Crawford.
The attorneys representing the teenage victim are asking that a judge financially penalize the school district and order them to pay the teen's attorneys fees.
The final request is notification to the jury about the missing video evidence, and information about who may have been responsible.
The school district's attorneys will have a few weeks to file a response with the court.
A school spokesperson said they would not comment on the pending litigation Friday afternoon.
