Suburban Chicago School District Settles Hazing Lawsuit for $1M

Five former students of a suburban Chicago high school will receive $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed in connection with hazing allegations.

Officials of Maine Township High School District 207 say they and plaintiffs’ attorney Antonio Romanucci agreed to the settlement after deciding it was mutually beneficial.

The students alleged soccer coach Michael Divincenzo allowed hazing by members of the team. Divincenzo was acquitted in 2014 of hazing and misdemeanor battery charges.

Each of the former students will receive $200,000 from the settlement, which claimed the plaintiffs were victims of inappropriate hazing rituals conducted by older members of the boys soccer team in 2012. Among the allegations was that one of the students was sexually assaulted on school property by fellow soccer players.