3 Butler College Soccer Gamers File Federal Lawsuit Alleging Abuse by Former Coach

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three Butler College girls’s soccer gamers filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging the staff’s former athletic coach sexually assaulted and groomed a number of gamers on the staff.

Michael Howell allegedly dedicated the assaults and different sexual misconduct over a number of years, the lawsuit stated.

The alleged acts occurred in Butler’s coaching room, workplaces, buses and in Howell’s personal lodge rooms throughout away video games, the criticism stated. They occurred whereas Howell was underneath the supervision of Ralph Reiff, Butler’s senior affiliate athletic director for student-athlete well being, efficiency and well-being.

As an alternative of athletic massages that ought to have lasted solely 10 minutes and directed at a particular space, Howell would give full-body massages in a personal room that might final hours, the criticism stated.

Additional, Howell advised the ladies he had “information towards all of the gamers and would use them in the event that they ever stated something dangerous about him,” the lawsuits allege.

“If I am going down, you all go down with me,” the lawsuit alleges he advised them.

The lawsuit claims Reiff “by no means inquired, investigated, raised questions concerning the security of the feminine athletes or adopted security protocols.”

Butler issued a press release saying partially “the well being, security, and well-being of our campus group is at all times our high precedence.”

“In late September 2021, student-athletes on the ladies’s soccer staff reported misconduct by Michael Howell, an assistant athletic coach. Upon being knowledgeable of the allegations, the College promptly notified legislation enforcement, eliminated Howell from campus and suspended him from his job duties, pending additional investigation. After an intensive investigation and listening to, the coach was discovered accountable for violating College insurance policies, and he was then terminated in summer time 2022,” the assertion stated.

Howell couldn’t be situated for remark Wednesday night. The Indianapolis Star said Reiff didn’t instantly reply to a message looking for remark.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.