Former Sandwich athlete files suit [Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.]

Sept. 28--SANDWICH -- A former Sandwich High School football player has filed a $1 million federal lawsuit against the town, saying his civil rights were violated.

Ty McGrath and his mother, Julianne, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Boston on Thursday, contending that the police and the school department violated his rights in what turned out to be inflated allegations that he assaulted a younger teammate.

McGrath, then an 18-year-old senior, was charged in November 2011 with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after the freshman's parents went to police about a locker room incident that others on the team characterized as "horseplay." He was exonerated in April 2012 by a six-member Barnstable District Court jury.

The lawsuit names the town and individuals, including Police Chief Peter Wack and schools Superintendent C. Richard Canfield, as defendants. But the 108-page complaint centers on McGrath's arrest by Officer Brian Bondarek, a coerced confession and photos that never existed that purported to show injuries.

The suit alleges that school officials used Bondarek's false police report to discipline McGrath and failed to give him due process.

Along with facing criminal charges, McGrath was suspended from school for 10 days based on Bondarek's police report and missed his final two football games as a senior.

McGrath suffered emotional distress from being arrested and the publicity surrounding it, according to the suit. Along with "panic attacks, loss of sleep, loss of appetite" and a host of other maladies, the suit alleges that McGrath attempted suicide.

"It was a life-changing event for him," attorney Bruce Bierhans said. Bierhans represents both mother and son in the case. "He's attempting to recover emotionally from what happened to him."

McGrath is a sophomore at Bridgewater State University and a member of its football team. "He's in school and playing football, but he didn't have an opportunity to go to some of the schools he wanted to," Bierhans said.

The suit alleges that colleges, including the University of Georgia, were sent newspaper clippings about McGrath's arrest and shied away from recruiting him to play.

McGrath went by the nickname "Georgia" in high school, an homage to his family's home state before moving to Massachusetts.

McGrath's arrest by Bondarek and the officer's failure to allow McGrath to have his lawyer present, as well as a failure to record his interrogation, are all detailed in the suit.

Bondarek, a 17-year veteran at the time, was suspended for six months from the department after an internal investigation found that he repeatedly lied and that his investigation of McGrath's case was incompetent.

Bondarek returned to the department in mid-July, Town Manager George "Bud" Dunham said.

Wack declined to comment on the suit, referring questions to Dunham. "Once the town receives a copy of the complaint, we'll forward it to our insurance company to respond to on behalf of the town and school department," Dunham said. "This is a similar process we follow for all lawsuits."

Canfield declined to comment, saying he had not yet been notified officially about the suit.

Julianne McGrath also alleges intimidation by the Police Department. The suit alleges that during the department's internal investigation into Bondarek, Julianne McGrath was asked about her daughter's biological father within earshot of her son, who until then was not aware that he didn't share the same father as his sister.

"Ty heard Lieutenant (David) Guillemette's conversation with his mother and, therefore, was cruelly made aware of this painful family history," according to the suit. The suit alleges that the line of questioning was intended to embarrass Mrs. McGrath and intimidate her from pursuing a complaint against Bondarek. It's been 14 months since the McGraths put the town on notice that they intended to sue.

"The reason we took some time is we wanted to make sure all the bases were covered," Bierhans said.

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