RyeCity REVIEW THE
June 19, 2020 | Vol. 8, Number 24 | www.eastchesterreview.com
‘Bout time!
With some stores reopening and people having the ability to dine outdoors, Westchester seems closer to normalcy now than at any time since March. For stories, see pages 3 and 4.
Gaynor sex abuse case now implicates Holy Rosary By MIKE SMITH Sports Editor Another accuser has forward against Edwin “Ted” Gaynor, claiming that the former coach and teacher sexually abused him from 1968 to 1971, while at Holy Rosary, an elementary school in Hawthorne. The lawsuit, which the Review learned was filed in court on Tuesday, June 9, also names IHM in Scarsdale and the Archdiocese of New York as co-defendants, and accounts for the fourth suit to be filed since May 28, bringing the total number of Gaynor’s accusers to 18. But this latest filing also marks the first case to spring from Gaynor’s position as a youth basketball coach at Holy Rosary. Previous allegations stem from the former educator’s time at St. Bernard’s in White Plains and IHM, spanning his four decades of work with area youths. The plaintiff—who filed the suit under the condition of ano-
nymity—alleged that he was sexually abused by Gaynor between the ages of 11 and 14. Gaynor served as the plaintiff’s basketball coach at the time and was also renting a room in the plaintiff’s family’s house. The accuser contends that Gaynor parlayed his position as an authority figure into unsupervised time with him. The plaintiff alleges that Gaynor would frequently fondle him, both at school and at home, and used his position as the Holy Rosary basketball coach to take advantage of his players in the school’s locker room. “Gaynor would watch Plaintiff and the other boys in the shower room at Holy Rosary after the games,” read the lawsuit. “Sometimes Gaynor would lather Plaintiff up in the shower himself.” The plaintiff alleges that he reported the sexual abuse, confiding in his seventh grade teacher. According to the filings, the teacher relayed the complaints to the school’s principal, who even-
tually told a Holy Rosary pastor. But the plaintiff also recalls an uncomfortable meeting with the pastor and alleges that the punishment he received for making the accusations dissuaded him from speaking out against Gaynor’s abuses in the future. “Plaintiff was then lectured about having impure thoughts, forced to do hours of prayer, including 500 Hail Marys,” the lawsuit contends. “After 1.5 hours,
Archdiocese attempts to suppress testimony Read Op-Ed, Page 9 Plaintiff believed he was done with 500, but the priest forced him to do more. He continued praying for 2 more hours…. This kept him quiet from complaining about Gaynor again.” The stream of recent filings against Gaynor coincides with a re-opening of the courts within
the last month. New York State courts closed in March due to the coronavirus outbreak but resumed activities on May 18. Due to the hiatus, several issues in the case against Gaynor were left unresolved, including whether or not the defendant would be forced to give a deposition. Prior to the court system shutdown, Gaynor—who has admitted to two counts of sexual abuse in writing—announced that he would refuse to testify in the case, leading to a decision by state Supreme Court Associate Justice Steven M. Jaeger that gave the defendant until March 17 to show cause as to why he should not be compelled to give testimony. That date was ultimately tabled due to the impact of the pandemic. The issue of Gaynor’s testimony and other matters will be discussed by all parties during a Skype conference scheduled for June 10. CONTACT: sports@hometwn.com
Mamaroneck schools slapped with civil rights lawsuit By CHRISTIAN FALCONE Editor-in-Chief Two former Mamaroneck students have filed a civil rights lawsuit against the local public school district alleging racial discrimination and harassment by classmates while the district did nothing to combat it. The lawsuit, which is seeking a trial by jury, contains dozens of accounts of “racist” language and pervasive bullying directed at two anonymous Black siblings. The suit was filed in federal court on May 18. The plaintiffs, identified in the lawsuit only as A.A., 15, and B.A., 14, withdrew from the school district in the fall of 2019 and are currently being home schooled. Their full names are being withheld from the court filings and their address is not being disclosed to protect their identities. A.A. first entered the school district in 2011, attending Central Elementary School. According to the lawsuit, his first encounter with racial harassment came when he turned nine and was given a birthday card by one of his classmates. The card read, “Happy birthday. Avoid prison.” The first time A.A. heard the N-word spoken in school was in the fifth grade while playing a game with classmates. Speaking out loud words that correspond with letters in the alphabet, one of his classmates, when it came to the letter “N,” looked at A.A. and said the N-word. “A.A. was so upset by these comments that he started to cry,” the lawsuit states. For years, as the incidents of harassment mounted, the siblings and their mother, listed in the lawsuit as C.A, routinely reported them to school officials. At first teachers and guidance counselors were notified, and ultimately the matter was brought to the attention of Dr. Robert Shaps, the superintendent of schools.
But the school district did nothing to stop it, the lawsuit claims. The Mamaroneck Board of Education, Shaps, high school Principal Elizabeth Clain and Assistant Principal Mario Washington are also listed as defendants in the case. Any actions that were taken, according to the lawsuit, were said to be insufficient to curb the daily racial harassment and discrimination the two siblings faced. “Defendants were deliberately indifferent to their suffering,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants tolerated a culture in the school district where racism became the norm.” For A.A., things would only get worse when he matriculated into Hommocks Middle School. While there his classmates referred to him as the N-word so often that he lost count. “How many times is enough for the n-word to be mentioned,” he told his guidance counselor when he was just 13. In seventh grade, while A.A. was in the locker room after swim class several students started mimicking whipping slaves with towels in the locker room, while another student then dangled shoelaces to mimic hangings. School officials encouraged A.A. to report the harassment he encountered but then failed to protect him from the retaliation he faced from students for coming forward. Instead, the lawsuit claims, that approach taken by the district only intensified the culture of bullying. The relationship between A.A. and B.A. even suffered as a result with both students struggling to sleep at night and A.A. taking out some of his frustrations on his younger sister. The abuse reached a crescendo when A.A. entered Mamaroneck High School. LAWSUIT continued on page 9