Published: May 18, 2008 01:02 am            

ALLEGED ASSAULT: Wilson tries to move on

Court cases are pending, but district wants focus on education

BY APRIL AMADON

amadona@gnnewspaper.com

The Wilson Central School District is trying its best to get back to normal after an alleged assault scandal rocked the small lakeside community.

“I think the real focus at the district now is just returning to life as normal for the students,” Public Relations Official Mark Ball said. “It’s end-of-year time, and they want them to have the same experience as they would have any other year.”

Ball, employed by the Monroe to Orleans BOCES Communication Group, has been tapped to respond to questions from the media.

Wilson Superintendent Michael Wendt said the district decided to turn to a public relations firm after local media outlets ran stories using anonymous sources making allegations against the district.

Three varsity baseball players — 16-year-olds Colton J. Sherman and Christopher A. Sidote and 18-year-old Geoffrey A. Seefeldt — are accused of assaulting at least two members of the junior varsity team on the floor in the back of the bus during a trip home from Niagara Falls on April 17.

They have been charged with various counts of third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

District officials cannot say whether the three students have been suspended from school, Ball said, citing student privacy concerns.

Two coaches who were on the bus — William Atlas, the junior varsity baseball coach, and Thomas J. Baia, the varsity baseball coach — have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Since the alleged incident was reported, Ball said, the school has instituted a bus transportation plan, placing adults in strategic locations on buses.

High School Principal Dan Johnson has been appointed to head the new Harassment and Intimidation Task Force, with the intent of finding and implementing new safety procedures.

Ball said the district wants to let parents know they’re staying safe.

“I think that’s a part of it, but it’s also just making sure that we’re doing a good job of what Wilson already does a good job of, which is educating students,” he said. “I’d say that things have started really calming down and heading back to normal, which is good for the kids.”

Contact reporter April Amadon

at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

        

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