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Lawsuit alleges Georgia military academy failed to prevent hazing abuse

The lawsuit alleges the plaintiff’s mother and teachers reported physical abuse to administrators who “did little or nothing to protect” him.
The Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia.
The Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia.WXIA

A former Riverside Military Academy cadet has filed a lawsuit against the Georgia school and its administrators alleging he was physically and sexually assaulted by older cadets and the school did little or nothing to stop the abuse.

The plaintiff, who was 12 to 13 years old at the time of the alleged abuse at the school in Gainesville, Georgia, is only identified as L.A. in the lawsuit filed Nov. 15 in U.S. District Court. He is now 18.

His lawyer, Martin Glink, has asked the court to allow the case to continue using only the teen's initials.

The lawsuit is alleging “negligent failure to protect” the boy from abuse.

Two former cadets identified in the lawsuit are accused of hazing and abusing the ex-student to gain “status” at Riverside Military Academy during his enrollment at the school. The ex-cadet alleges two cadets who hazed him had a history of being physically abusive and should have been denied admission, according to the lawsuit.

The former cadet claims his roommate would beat him and “bang his head against the wall” during his enrollment at the school between 2012 and 2013 and that the roommate “strongly grabbed his testicles.”

He also alleges he was raped and forced to perform oral sex and masturbation on a former classmate and was put in hazing situations that were sexual in nature.

The lawsuit alleges the plaintiff’s mother and teachers reported physical abuse to administrators who "did little or nothing to protect" him.

The former cadet said his abusive roommate was eventually removed and replaced with another. The plaintiff withdrew from the school in April 2013.

Riverside Military Academy is a private, college preparatory, boarding and day school for boys in grades 7 through 12.

A spokesman for the school said he could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit.

"The safety and well-being of our cadets is and has always been our priority," Christian Mims, the school's director of marketing and public affairs, told NBC News. "It is difficult to comment on this matter, since we neither know the details of the allegations nor have we been served with the lawsuit."