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Former Wrestling Coach Faces Sex Abuse Suit

A former wrestling coach for a Catholic high school, already facing accusations he physically and sexually abused his students, has been slapped with a lawsuit by a second accuser.

(CN) - A former wrestling coach for a Catholic high school, already facing accusations he physically and sexually abused his students, has been slapped with a lawsuit by a second accuser.

Scott Eugene Stern, was employed as coach by Clearwater Central Catholic High School in Florida. He was sued in 2016 by a student who accused him of physical and mental abuse.

Now, in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Pinellas County court, Stern is accused of taking advantage of at-risk youth and of making one wrestling student undress and take spankings with a ruler.

Stern worked for the Catholic high school from 2012 to 2014, during which time he coached the school's varsity and junior varsity wrestling teams.

According to both complaints, Stern accused the boys of using illegal drugs and threatened to tell others unless they performed various humiliating acts.

“John Doe was not the only or even the first student with whom Coach Stern exercised improperly his position of authority and control,” the complaint states.

In the latest lawsuit, a student says Stern made him “memorize various literature and recite said literature in the privacy of the wrestling locker room.”

But if the student made a mistake, “Coach Stern coerced and required John Doe II to take his clothes off and bend over,” the complaint says.

Then the coach would hit him with a ruler, says the student, who says this routine occurred multiple times.

The plaintiff clams Stern also made him simulate sexual activities and masturbate.

The student also named the school in the lawsuit, claiming the institution should have known about Stern’s prior history, including a similar charge at another area high school, and allowing the coach private access to students.

“Prior to his employment at Clearwater Catholic, Coach Stern was accused and investigated by other employers for at least two separate instances of similar improper conduct against students at another school where Coach Stern was previously employed,” the complaint states. “The prior investigations led to his employment termination by those employers.”

In 2015, after his time at the high school, Stern served 60 days in jail after pleading no contest to battery charges brought on by two students. News reports detail accusations similar to the civil complaints.

The Diocese of St. Petersburg, which oversees the high school, could not be reached for comment. Stern did not respond to a request for comment.

The student is represented by Alan Wagner of Wagner McLaughlin in Tampa.

Follow @alexbpickett
Categories / Criminal, Education, Personal Injury, Regional

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