River Forest Police Department A former student at Concordia University Chicago filed an updated civil lawsuit against the former head baseball coach and the school Thursday, a move that comes two months after the coach was convicted of criminal sexual assault. The new complaint accuses the university of negligence and failing to protect its student-athletes. Advertisement Former Concordia head baseball coach Spiro Lempesis was found guilty at a December bench trial of sexually assaulting a teen who later became one of his players at the River Forest university.
That player is the plaintiff in the civil case. The onetime coach, Spiro Lempesis, was convicted of one count of criminal sexual assault of a victim between the ages of 13 and 17 and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim between the ages of 13 and Lempesis was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Now lawyers for Lempesis and Concordia are bracing for battle in the civil case, which broadens the allegations and includes a gray area of conduct between the coach and player.
The suit alleges Concordia failed to provide for the care and safety of Collaro, failed to properly investigate misconduct and did not follow procedures designed to protect student-athletes from predatory coaches. The lawsuit also alleges the university never should have hired Lempesis and failed to perform an adequate background check on him. Concordia competes at the Division III level for athletics. Collaro, 28, is suing Lempesis and Concordia for damages in Cook County Circuit Court, also alleging the former coach committed sexual battery and that Lempesis and the university were in breach of fiduciary duty.
He said Collaro fabricated part of his story for financial gain. Lempesis was fired in September Collaro first met Lempesis in at a baseball camp when Collaro was 10 years old. After another session, according to the River Forest police report, Lempesis showered with Collaro and groped him when the two were naked. While he was a pitcher on the team in and , Lempesis told Collaro he could reduce his debt for baseball equipment if he agreed to engage in sex acts on video.
Lempesis had players pay him personally for gear, according to the lawsuit. Collaro told police he performed sex acts on film on multiple occasions. Lempesis later asked Collaro to perform a sexual act, but he refused and his playing time was reduced, according to the lawsuit. During the criminal trial, Jeffrey Hynes, vice president for student life and intercollegiate athletics and dean of students at Concordia, testified that he heard about allegations against Lempesis from an assistant coach, then spoke to Collaro.
