Alleged sexual assault on Manheim Twp. lacrosse trip prompted Title IX investigation, but no ChildLine report

INVESTIGATION

On a Saturday night last April, Manheim Town-ship boys lacrosse players settled into their hotel rooms after a bruising afternoon loss in western Pennsylvania.

The coaches called lights out at 10 p.m. and made a round of room checks.

A short time later, one of the players pinned down a teammate on a hotel room bed while another teammate, naked from the waist down, repeatedly thrust his genitals at the victim’s face, according to a confidential report from a student and a school investigation of the incident, confirmed by the victim’s parents.

Another teammate recorded video of the incident and sent it to the player who had exposed himself, who then posted the video more broadly to a group chat via social media, the investigation found.

By the time Sunday’s game arrived, everyone on the team likely knew what had happened. But no one was suspended from the team, even after the district launched an internal investigation.

Athletic records show both alleged perpetrators took the field and continued to play through the 2024 season.

And school officials’ handling of the incident appears to have fallen far short of state child-protection laws made tougher a decade ago following the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal at Penn State University, an LNP | LancasterOnline investigation found.

No one in the school district’s administration— not the superintendent, not the athletic director, not the lacrosse coach, not the human resources director or anyone else who learned of the incident — notified state authorities, despite their status as “mandatory reporters,” legally required to report any suspected abuse, including indecent exposure or indecent assault, to the state. Only after receiving a formal complaint weeks later did the district launch an internal investigation into whether the players had violated Title IX, a federal civil rights law that covers sexual misconduct in athletics. The district ultimately found the players had not violated Title IX, and administrators closed the case. Acting Superintendent Dale Reimann said earlier this month that the district notified Manheim Township police when the complaint was received, and the district was advised that anyone who wanted to press charges would need to contact police in Stow, Ohio, the location of the hotel.

“We’re not happy about what

STORY BY JOHN WALK | JWALK@LNPNEWS.COM We’re not happy about what happened. But we reported this to the necessary parties and followed the necessary steps in a manner that is respectful to the privacy of our kids.

— acting Superintendent Dale Reimann, who was assistant superintendent at the time of the investigation

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ABBY RHOAD | STAFF

happened,” Reimann, who was assistant superintendent at the time of the investigation, said. “But we reported this to the necessary parties and followed the necessary steps in a manner that is respectful to the privacy of our kids.”

Manheim Township police Chief Duane Fisher said that his office has no records of a report on the incident and that the school district would have been directed to contact law enforcement in the jurisdiction in which the incident occurred.

But that never happened, either.

About mandatory reporting

Experts say it’s a clear-cut case that mandated reporters should have referred to the state.

The Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law requires a range of adults to immediately report suspected child abuse or neglect to ChildLine, a 24/7 hotline run by the state human services department. Failure to report is a criminal offense.

“Essentially, the three main components that are needed and required to make a mandated report include a mandated reporter, a child and then that reasonable suspicion of abuse,” said Jaime Cypher, children advocacy coordinator for the Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect.

“So we don’t need to be lawyers to be effective mandated reporters. What we would say and what we do encourage is that mandated reporters call ChildLine … if they are uncertain. If it is a mandated report, then CYS (Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency) is trained to investigate further. They are the experts to rely on.”

Children and Youth Services Lancaster Executive Director Crystal Natan forwarded a request for comment late last month to Lancaster County communications director Michael Fitzpatrick, who said, “We won’t be able to speak to it. The district attorney might be able to answer that.”

Erik Yabor, media specialist for Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams, in an email Feb. 4 said: “The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office was not made aware of the incident prior to the reporter’s email (Jan. 20). Currently, we are looking into the facts surrounding any implication of the Child Protective Services Law.”

District investigation

LNP | LancasterOnline generally does not identify those who say they are the victims of sexual assault, sexual abuse or indecent assault unless they publicly identify themselves.

In Pennsylvania, indecent assault is the crime of having forced “indecent contact” with someone else; unlike sexual assault, it doesn’t necessarily involve sexual intercourse or penetration, and it can include forced contact with genitals.

A player on the team who was not in the hotel room during the incident reported the event to Safe2Say Something, the school district wrote in its Title IX report.

Safe2Say is an online anonymous tip service run by the state attorney general’s office, through which students, parents and staff can submit tips and concerns about potential youth violence. Safe2Say reporting does not replace the need for a ChildLine report under state law.

School administrators received the Safe2Say report May 3. On May 9, the district filed a Title IX complaint and launched an investigation into the “alleged sexual assault.” Title IX is the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination and requires all students benefit from participating in sports.

The investigation, which lasted just over three months, involved at least two school officials meeting with each player on the team, often with the players’ parents, Reimann said. The investigation’s final determination was delivered Aug. 12.

“The school district finds that the evidence does not support a finding that Respondent 1 has violated Title IX or its associated school district policy - Policy 103,” the district wrote in the Title IX report. “The matter as associated with Respondent 1 will be referred to high school administration for further management, evaluation and supportive measures and disciplinary consequences.”

(Per the school district’s definitions in the school handbook on such a matter, the victim is referred to in the district’s Title IX complaint and report as the “complainant” while the player who exposed himself is referred to as “Respondent 1.”) In a meeting with departing Manheim Township Superintendent Robin Felty and Reimann on Oct. 8, the victim’s parents said, they were told the school district did not report the matter to the state, claiming mandatory reporting is not required if it’s child-to-child, or teen-to-teen, assault or abuse. The victim is 17 years old and was 17 at the time of the trip.

Reimann, when asked Feb. 5 if he or anyone on the Manheim Town-ship School District administration or coaching staff reported the matter to the state’s ChildLine, said, “We understand the nature of mandatory reporting, but we consider those functions to be confidential. So I can’t qualify if we did or did not contact the state’s ChildLine. We looked at the details of this incident, we communicated with law enforcement straight away, we notified our solicitor, and we followed all of our steps that would be appropriate.”

Reimann said the school district specifically communicated with the Manheim Township Police Department.

When contacted Feb. 5 about Reimann’s statement, Fisher said that if the Manheim Township Police Department “receives a complaint about an incident that occurred in another jurisdiction, the reporting party is immediately directed to contact the responsible agency.”

The police department in Stow, Ohio — where the incident took place — said in late January that it has no records on file relating to the incident. The prosecutor in Summit County, Ohio (where Stow is located), said the same.

When asked again Feb. 6 to confirm police were contacted, Reimann responded via email: “On 5/3/24 (the date that we received the [Safe2Say] concern), a conversation occurred between MTSD and MTPD. No, the district was not directed to report this matter to the Stow Police Department. It was discussed that if any party wished to pursue criminal charges, such pursuit would need to occur within the jurisdiction where the incident took place.”

The victim’s parents said they were not contacted by any law enforcement or Child and Youth Services representatives in 2024.

Repeated efforts to reach Felty by phone and by email in late January and early February for comment were unsuccessful. Felty did not respond to voicemails or email. She left the district in December.

Manheim Township boys lacrosse coach Dan Lyons said he “was not part of the investigative process” by the school district on the matter and “until there was a finding by the school (district administration) I was told not to make any specific changes” to the playing time of the players involved “because you don’t want to get into falsely punishing a student.”

Lyons said he is aware of mandatory reporting laws requiring child abuse to be reported to the state’s ChildLine, but he didn’t report this matter to the state because he wasn’t involved in the school district’s investigation on the matter and all he had to go off was the anonymous Safe2Say report.

“I wouldn’t consider an anonymous tip that doesn’t provide any names or anything from which I could report … I couldn’t report for individuals that I don’t even know were involved and don’t have much detail on,” Lyons said.

Repeated efforts to reach the parents of the players who were investigated were unsuccessful.

What the law, experts say

The Pennsylvania Child Protective Services law has 16 categories of individuals who are designated as mandated reporters, including medical examiners, health care professionals, school employees, members of the clergy and law enforcement officials.

The law has different rules on reporting child abuse when the perpetrator and victim are minors. In such situations, the law states it’s not child abuse unless the perpetrator committed one or more crimes outlined in the statute on mandated reporters.

Those crimes include rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault or indecent exposure.

Brandon Cwalina, secretary for the state Department of Human Services, said in an email: “A mandated reporter is required by the CPSL (Child Protective Services Law) to make an immediate and direct report to ChildLine when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child is a victim of abuse, regardless of whether the child tells the employee about the suspected abuse, and regardless of whether the person responsible for the abuse can be identified …. There are no exceptions based on the age of the individual suspected of committing the abuse or if the activity takes place off school grounds or during nonworking hours.”

When asked if ChildLine had been contacted by Manheim Township School District regarding the lacrosse team incident, Cwalina cited the confidentiality of ChildLine reports and declined further comment.

Title IX-related matters are addressed under Policy 103 within Manheim Township’s handbook, which states, “A school employee who suspects or is notified that a student has been subject to conduct that constitutes a violation of this policy shall immediately report the incident to the building principal, as well as properly making any mandatory police or child protective services reports required by law.”

Suzanne Estrella, who oversees the state’s Office of Victim Advocate, said she wonders if Manheim Township School District has done anything to address the culture on the boys lacrosse team since the incident occurred.

The district’s handbook includes references under Title IX compliance to “training for students and staff to prevent, identify and alleviate problems of discrimination.”

“I hope they (Manheim Town-ship School District) don’t ignore that something different should have happened,” Estrella said. “There shouldn’t be a culture on the team that says they’re OK with something like this happening.”

Reimann said the school district has routine sexual harassment training for its staff.

“(The boys lacrosse) season opens March 3. I have been in communication with coach Lyons and athletic director Tim Hollenback and have gone over a preseason plan with them,” he said. “We have a good plan in place to open the season in a positive way.”

Ed Journey Field and its gate, below, are shown Thursday at Manheim Township High School. The field is home to the high school’s lacrosse team, in addition to the field hockey and soccer teams.

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER PHOTOS