Lawsuit Filed in High School Baseball Hazing Incident

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The baseball team at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, Calif., is under investigation after a lawsuit was filed alleging a group of former players participated in a hazing incident against a fellow teammate. 

The incident happened while the team was on a sponsored spring break trip in Rancho Cucamonga last March. At least seven players are implicated in having tricked a teammate into eating a doughnut that had been contaminated with "a potentially harmful foreign organic substance from their own bodies."

According to the Santa Barbara ABC affiliate, two boys conspired together to collect the foreign substance from members of the team, collect it into a cup and "lather it onto a doughnut."

The plaintiff reportedly took bites of the doughnut without know what had been done to it. The lawsuit also alleges that the chaperones for the trip were out drinking instead of conducting bed checks or enforcing curfew.

Dos Pueblos High School administration was made aware of the incident after rumors circulated throughout the school. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office was contacted to avoid any possible conflicts of interest because the school's resource deputy was also the head baseball coach.

The incident has been investigated and a number of interviews were conducted to verify reports. Both Santa Barbara County and San Bernardino County District Attorney's Offices ultimately decided not to file criminal charges.

The plaintiff filed his lawsuit in April, seeking financial compensation due to serious emotional distress, including anxiety, embarrassment and humiliation caused by the incident.

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