Lawsuit accuses Westhill district of failing to stop lacrosse hazing

A new lawsuit in Onondaga County Supreme Court has put Westhill back under a harsh spotlight, with parents of two boys accusing the Westhill Central School District of failing to protect younger players from older teammates during the April 2025 lacrosse hazing and abduction incident.

The filing centers on what families say happened inside the Westhill High School boys varsity lacrosse program: older players allegedly tied up one boy, put a hood over his head and placed him in the trunk of a vehicle. The lawsuit says the district should have done more to stop abuse that went far beyond rough team initiation and left local families facing another round of trauma and public scrutiny.

The criminal case that followed already stunned the community. On April 29, 2025, Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick said 11 Westhill boys varsity lacrosse players had 48 hours to turn themselves in on misdemeanor unlawful imprisonment charges. Fitzpatrick called it “hazing on steroids” and said the victims were lured with a false plan to go to a lacrosse game and then McDonald’s. Coverage of the case said one victim had a pillowcase placed over his head, his hands tied, and an apparent gun and knife pointed at him before he was put into a car trunk. Westhill canceled the rest of its boys lacrosse season.

The response from the program and district is now part of the accountability question. Coach Aaron Cahill said on May 1, 2025 that his heart was broken for the victims, that the conduct did not represent the program, and that the coaching staff had no prior knowledge of the incident. He said the staff cooperated fully with investigators. Superintendent Stephen Dunham later told the Westhill Board of Education that the district would add training, additional resources and a review of policies and practices, a sign that the school system knew it had to change how it monitored student behavior.

Those changes will now be measured against what families say the district missed before the episode and what it did after it broke open. On May 15, 2025, Judge Paul Mullin ruled four 18-year-old players were eligible for youthful offender status, sealing their names and arraignment. The lawsuit keeps the focus on whether stronger supervision, clearer reporting and a harder line on team culture could have prevented a violent episode that still reverberates through Westhill and across Onondaga County.