Two Haverhill football coaches and a player charged in hazing case

Two Haverhill High School football coaches and an 18-year-old player were arraigned Tuesday on charges stemming from three alleged hazing incidents that prosecutors say happened earlier this school year.

Essex Assistant District Attorney Alyssa Thibault alleged in Haverhill District Court that head football coach Timothy O’Connor, 48, and Michael Attah, a 27-year-old assistant coach, failed to report the hazing incidents that played out at the school’s athletic facilities between Aug. 18 and Oct. 12.

O’Connor and Attah are both charged with failure to file a 51A report — the state’s child abuse reporting form — and intimidation of a witness. O’Connor was also charged with failure to report hazing.

“After the coaches became aware of the hazing, they failed to report it, as they are required by law, and either discouraged a victim from reporting it or encouraged the destruction of evidence,” the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Football player Jesse Rodriguez, 18, was charged with three counts each of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years of age or older, assault and battery, and hazing, prosecutors said.

The alleged attacks targeted three individuals, and at least one of the incidents was caught on video.

The leaked footage allegedly shows members of the football team assaulting a young man, Boston 25 News reported last month.

Three people, one wearing a Haverhill football shirt, are shown dragging another person across the floor and pulling his clothes off, according to the news station. A fourth person, wearing only underwear, can be seen standing over the boy on the floor and straddling his face.

According to the district attorney’s office, Haverhill police are also seeking charges against five juveniles.

Eric Goldman, an attorney representing O’Connor, told WBZ-TV his client will fight the allegations.

“He’s devastated, I mean, he’s dedicated his life to teaching kids and coaching kids,” Goldman said. “He has children of his own, his wife is a teacher. He is well liked and well respected.”

District Court Judge Sarah Joss set bail for O’Connor at $750; for Attah at $350; and for Rodriguez at $200.

Joss ordered O’Connor and Attah to stay away from the high school and have no contact with victims, witnesses, or members of the football team or coaching staff, and to refrain from any coaching, according to the district attorney’s office.

Rodriguez was ordered to stay away from the school and have no contact with the victims and co-defendants. He is also barred from using social media and from participating in organized sports.

When the video footage went public last month, Haverhill Public Schools canceled the rest of its football season, namely, its traditional Thanksgiving Day game against Lowell High School.

Members of the coaching staff were placed on paid administrative leave as the school district launched an internal investigation.

“All forms of hazing and harassment are intolerable; hazing of this magnitude is unconscionable. The video evidence in this situation is disturbing,” Haverhill Public Schools Superintendent Margaret Marotta said in a statement Tuesday. “At its root, hazing is meant to cause harm, discomfort, embarrassment, humiliation, and ridicule. It leaves our athletes questioning what is right and wrong and confused about whether to speak up due to conflicting allegiances. Hazing instills fear. For those courageous students, families, and staff who have spoken up, thank you.”

Marotta said the district’s leadership team launched an investigation soon after learning about the allegations, disciplined several students, and provided support for others.

The district notified both the Haverhill Police Department and the state Department of Children and Families, and brought in an outside investigator to handle the school’s internal probe, Marotta said.

“While we cannot comment on the ongoing investigation or the pending criminal charges, let us be clear, a coach is, first and foremost, a teacher,” Marotta said. “The role of a coach is to set an example for the players, inspiring them to be better on and off the field. A coach’s primary responsibility is to ensure each student-athlete’s health and well-being. Realistically, most high school athletes will not play competitively after graduating; however, the lessons they learn on the field, court, and around the track will remain with them for a lifetime.”

The district has also brought in the Center for the Study of Sport and Society at Northeastern University, with a shared goal to “help our student-athletes, leaders, and coaches to shift the paradigm that sports are about the scoreboard to a more inclusive attitude, which promotes sports as a way to bridge cultural gaps, resolve conflicts, and educate students beyond the four walls of the school building,” Marotta said.

“As we move forward to rebuild our football program and instill best practices for all our teams, the school system will continue to be intentional about the growth of our athletes on and off the field,” Marotta said. “We refuse to be defined by these events, and they do not accurately characterize the hundreds of other student-athletes and dozens of dedicated coaches within our school district.”

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