South Jersey Catholic school under fire for not seriously punishing athletes' discussion of 'raping' a student

A Catholic high school in Southern New Jersey has found itself in the eye of a storm after two of its athletes allegedly discussed “raping” a student over Snapchat but were not seriously punished for the exchange.

As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, two football players for Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, N.J. allegedly discussed raping another student in a social media exchange on Sep. 26. Parents of the alleged target of the exchange complained to police, who investigated the incident but decided against charging the two teens.

That left any punishment up to officials at Paul VI, which decided the appropriate penalty was only what is outlined in the school handbook for harassment and a threat: Two hour-long detentions and 15 demerits. School officials added that both students were also forced to take anti-intimidation and sexual harassment education courses.

The two issues that have since been attacked by former Paul VI students on social media are A) whether the existing codified penalty for sexual harassment and threat violations is adequate, and B) whether two students openly discussing raping a younger student is a violation worthy or more than sexual harassment and a threat.

While the president of Paul VI, Michael Chambers, said he believed the two teenagers in question were still members of the school’s football team, he could not confirm that they were still active after the incident. Paul VI is currently 0-8 in the 2019 schedule.