Some are innocent:
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-...tion-headlines
January 12, 2006
U.S. jury clears Parkland of athlete abuse
Ex-coach and district were accused of urging student to rough up wrestler for smoking.
By Elliot Grossman
Of The Morning Call
A federal jury cleared Parkland School District officials of any wrongdoing Wednesday in a case involving claims that an ex-wrestling coach urged older teammates to punish younger teammates for misconduct.
After an hour of deliberations, the jury concluded that neither the district nor former coach John Toggas violated the rights of former wrestler James Allen.
Parkland Superintendent Louise Donohue was so confident about the potential outcome that, several hours before the verdict, she wrote a post-verdict statement.
''We believe that justice was served and served well today,'' Donohue said. ''The decision rendered by the jury was the right one and the only one that could possibly have been delivered based on the testimony heard in court for two-and-a-half days.''
Before leaving the courthouse with his parents, Allen, now 23, promised to appeal. ''I'll pursue it until it's over,'' he said, ''and to me it's over when it's a victory for my side.''
During the trial in Allentown, the eight-person jury saw videotaped testimony from former Parkland wrestling star Kurt Pryor. Pryor admitted that, in 1998, he put a headlock on Allen in a school hallway, hoping to persuade him to not smoke.
He called his action a ''dumb idea'' and denied that the coach had anything to do with it. He was the district's only witness.
But in closing arguments Wednesday, Allen's lawyer, Teri Himebaugh, said Toggas, Pryor and another former wrestler were not credible when they denied that Toggas had any involvement.
Himebaugh, of Schwenksville, said the Parkland wrestling community protects each other. ''You don't break ranks. You're a team player. You cover each other's back.''
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