Photos: Former disgraced Lycoming County Chief Detective and Little League World Series Team Host Willie Weber (left)
Current WASD Director of Student Services, Dr. Brandon Pardoe (right)
“By way of further answer,
David Scicchitano also recommended to the Attorney General’s Office
that William Weber, Chief County Detective for Lycoming County,
be arrested for Obstruction of Justice.”
Exh. 8 Scicchitano depo. 245: 15-20.
By Todd Bartley
TalkWilliamsport.com
NEWS@TalkWilliamsport.com
TalkWilliamsport.com obtained the “REPLY TO DEFENDANT WILLIAMSPORT AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT’S STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT”.
Included with the 91-page “REPLY” are deposition transcripts previously attached to the “Motion for Summary Judgment” filed by attorneys representing the Williamsport Area School District in the Federal Civil Rights lawsuit filed by John Doe #1 and supplemented in this filing.
John Doe #1 is the former WAHS baseball player who was the victim of a criminal indecent sexual assault during the 2018 WAHS baseball team trip in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
John Doe #1 is black the teammate who assaulted him is white.
The depositions contain previously undisclosed facts from the “investigators” employed by the Office of Pennsylvania Attorney General, Williamsport Area School District and Lycoming County.
Attorney Greg Stapp who is representing John Doe #1 was asking the questions and WASD Director of Student Services Dr. Brandon Pardoe was providing the answers.
Agent Scicchitano identified below is employed by the Office of Pennsylvania Attorney General.
At the time of the investigation in 2020 Josh Shapiro was the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
3. Admitted in part, denied in part. It is admitted that B.M. was a freshman at Williamsport Area High School (hereinafter referred to as “WAHS”) and a member of the school’s junior varsity baseball team in the spring of 2018. It is specifically denied that B.M. is an alleged assailant. B.M. was placed in a diversionary program for Second Degree Assault and Battery in the state of South Carolina.
Exh. 17 Horry County Juvenile Complaint and Victim Impact Statement.
By way of further answer, B.M. served a term of probation as a result of his conviction; thereby admitting he was the assailant. Id. B.M. testified that after seeing the video that has been admitted under seal that he put his penis in the face of John Doe. Exh. 11 B.M. depo. 166-167: 18-2.
7. Admitted. By way of further answer, at all times relevant hereto, Nick Caringi (hereinafter “Caringi”) was also an employee, agent, or servant of Little League Baseball International, which made him a mandated reporter during the spring of 2018. Exh. 2 Caringi depo. 7: 11-17. Caringi testified that he is the Director of Operations for Little League Baseball and Softball where he has worked for 30 years. Id.
9. Admitted in part, denied in part. It is admitted that Brandon Pardoe (hereinafter “Pardoe”) was the principal of the WAHS in the spring of 2018 and that he attended the spring 2018 Myrtle Beach WAHS baseball trip. It is specifically denied that he participated in the trip in his capacity as a parent of a player on the baseball team. Specifically,
Pardoe testified at length that he disciplined a child, M.H., while on the trip for purchasing marijuana in violation of the laws of South Carolina. Exh. 3 Pardoe depo. 51: 3-20.
This was within his role as a WAHS employee as he would have no power to discipline said child in his role as a parent to another child on the team. Pardoe went on after lengthy testimony about WASD’s own policies and procedures, and that he failed to report to the state of South Carolina that a student had purchased marijuana illegally. Id. at 59-61: 16-12; see also Exh. 19.
Pardoe also testified that the discipline of the student took place while in Myrtle Beach and that meetings were held with the student and/or other students related to this discipline. Exh. 3 Pardoe depo. 71: 11-19.
Pardoe admitted that Sean McCann (hereinafter “McCann”), the WASD Athletic Director, advised him that a player on the baseball team had purchased illicit drugs. As a result of this action by the player, Pardoe put on his Administrator hat to discipline the player.
Id. at 51: 3-9.
A parent, Todd McQuillen, notified employees of WASD that a player had purchased marijuana following which a meeting was held with Pardoe and McCann. Id. at 52-54: 3-9.
Pardoe testified that he interviewed the player and that the player admitted purchasing marijuana in South Carolina. Id. at 61: 13-24.
Pardoe admitted that WASD policy required him, as principal, to report the purchase of an illegal substance in South Carolina. Id. at 59: 16-21.
He testified that the player admitted purchasing marijuana and that he recovered drug paraphernalia. After interviewing the player and recovering items related to the purchase of an illicit drug, he admitted that he did not report the crime to the authorities in South Carolina as required by WASD policy. Id. at 60: 4-8; see also Exh. 19.
N.M. testified that there was a meeting on the bus with the players in Myrtle Beach where they were told that M.H. was sent home.
Exh. 4 N.M. depo. 116-117: 22-8.
11. Admitted. Anne Logue is hereinafter referred to as “Logue.” By way of further answer, Anne Logue hired REDACTED BY AUTHOR in violation of state law. (See the testimony provided in paragraph 6).
13. Admitted in part, denied in part. It is admitted that Willie Weber (“Weber”) was the Chief County Detective for Lycoming County in 2018. It is specifically denied that he investigated a Child Line Report related to the incident.
According to Weber’s own testimony, he put Pardoe in charge of investigating the Child Line Report related to the Plaintiff in this case. Exh. 7 Weber depo. 46: 5-20; Weber, page 161-162.
Weber failed to interview witnesses, including but not limited to, the actual perpetrator of the assault, despite being the Chief County Detective for Lycoming County. Id. at 71: 3-25.
Weber testified to a second Child Line Report related to the Myrtle Beach trip of 2018 but admitted that he never saw the second ChildLine report and didn’t know what was in it. Id. at 131: 12-17.
He also stated that other than interviewing Jeanne Reeder, he never followed up with other individuals whose names she gave him, who would have information about the second assault. Id. at 131-132: 18-7.
Her son B.R. was present at home during this interview and had information and evidence related to what happened in Myrtle Beach, but Weber made no effort to interview him. Exh. 14 B.R. depo. 50-51: 18-7.
Talking to Jeanne Reeder was the only “investigation” that Weber performed related to second Child Line Report.
Weber testified that during his investigation, he learned that Pardoe told the kids to delete the videos:
Q. And is it your understanding that Brandon Pardoe told the kids to get rid of either the images or the videos?
A. Sure.
Exh. 7 Weber depo. 54-55: 23-1.
Weber admitted that he never interviewed the REDACTED BY AUTHOR, or the athletic director, McCann, about what happened in Myrtle Beach or what they knew. Id. at 64: 3-22.
Weber never interviewed J.Z., the videographer, about what happened to John Doe. Id. at 70: 14-23.
When Weber was asked why he didn’t interview the perpetrator, B.M., in a sexual assault case, he testified, “George Lepley asked me not to.” Id. at 71: 3-5.
George Lepley was the attorney representing B.M. Id. 16-22.
The Childline report that Weber received reported the following:
“Q. Did you get this narrative when you got the call from Matt Wood about my client, John Doe?
A. I don’t recall.
Q. Is it possible you got it?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. If you look at the middle paragraph, I’m going to say, because it appears to be paragraphed off, in the part that begins, quote, The video depicts a child sleeping, and then has parenthesis, John Doe, end quote, do you see where I’m referring to that, sir?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. According to this narrative that we were provided by the county it states, quote, The video depicts a child sleeping, and then has parenthesis, John Doe, close parentheses, B.M. close parentheses, place his exposed penis onto John Doe’s mouth, period. A third party was recording the video and the laughter of numerous others can be heard in the background, period. It’s not clear in the video if there was penetration or not, period, close quote.
First of all, am I reading that paragraph correctly?
A. Yes.
Id. at 92-93: 7-7.
Weber felt the need to have an attorney present when he was interviewed by Agent Scicchitano of the Attorney General’s office because he was the “target of a criminal investigation by the attorney general’s office.” Id. at 98-99: 20-9.
Weber admitted that he never reported the assault of John Doe or the video recording of it to the Myrtle Beach Police Department.
Id. at 112-113: 19-17; 114-115: 3-17.
Weber testified that he did not believe the testimony of John Doe or Jeanne Reeder but did believe the testimony of all the WASD employees. Id. at 123-125: 24-18.
Weber also testified that he believed that Pardoe took the investigation “very seriously” even though he didn’t know who he interviewed or if he interviewed anyone at all. Id. at 135-136: 2-14.
Weber didn’t even know that J.Z. was the player that took the video. Id. at 137-138:17-11.
14. Admitted. By way of further answer, David Scicchitano also recommended to the Attorney General’s Office that William Weber, Chief County Detective for Lycoming County, be arrested for Obstruction of Justice. Exh. 8 Scicchitano depo. 245: 15-20.
16. Admitted. By way of further answer, the Defendant, WASD, never returned to Myrtle Beach for a baseball trip following the 2018 Myrtle Beach baseball trip. Exh. 3 Pardoe depo. 255: 8-11.
Additional details from the voluminous REPLY TO DEFENDANT WILLIAMSPORT AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT’S STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT are forthcoming.
