Two Tucson victims of the much-publicized "broomings" inflicted by the son of state Sen. Ken Bennett last summer sued Bennett and his family late Monday.
The complaint, which accuses Bennett's son of assault, battery, negligence and intentionally inflicting emotional distress, was filed Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court by Tucson attorneys Lynne M. Cadigan and her law partner Kim E. Williamson on behalf of two local 12-year-old boys who said they were physically and sexually degraded, humiliated and hurt by the broomings.
The boys who filed the lawsuit were two of 18 victims named in the criminal case against 18-year-old Clifton Roy Bennett and his co-defendant, 19-year-old Kyle Matthew Wheeler, who is also named as a defendant in the civil case.
Wheeler's parents are not named in the civil action though Bennett's parents are, because Bennett was 17 at the time of the broomings. Bennett's father is president of the Arizona state Senate and a businessman in Prescott.
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The criminal case has been the target of public outrage because the Yavapai County Attorney's Office offered Bennett and Wheeler a plea deal that could result in no jail time and a misdemeanor conviction.
Each had originally been charged with 18 felony counts of aggravated assault. Wheeler was facing another three felony counts of choking campers until they passed out. Bennett and Wheeler agreed to the deal and pleaded guilty last week. They are scheduled for sentencing May 12.
Both were unpaid junior counselors at Chapel Rock Camp in Prescott last summer when they "broomsticked" middle school boys ages 11 through 15 at the camp.
Brooming took place alternately with a heavy-duty flashlight, a cane and a mop handle while the boys were clothed. The exact definition of broomsticking varied, according to police reports, from touching brooms to the boys' anal areas to one description of how a boy was held down and the witness said the broomstick was "shoved" into his bottom.
Ken Bennett did not respond to requests for comment Monday. His son's criminal lawyer, Tom Henze said he had not yet been served with the complaint.
Wheeler's Prescott-based criminal attorney, Raymond Hanna said he was representing Wheeler only in the criminal case and did not know if the teen had a civil attorney.
The parents of the two boys who filed the lawsuit are also plaintiffs in the civil case, which in addition to the Bennett family names the Arizona Association of Junior High Student Councils and the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona as defendants. The Episcopal Diocese owns Chapel Rock camp, but the camp was rented by the student council group at the time.
A lawyer for the student council group said he had not seen the lawsuit. The association has said it has put on a successful camp for students for more than 40 years and that it does not condone the broomings. A spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese had also not seen the lawsuit and said he could not comment.
The civil suit says that Bennett and Wheeler took away the boys' cell phones when they arrived at the five-day camp and told them they were not allowed to contact their parents. The suit says the broomings occurred when the boys were wearing gym shorts or swim suits.
One of the plaintiffs says he was broomed between seven and 10 times, the other boy says he was broomed three times. Both say they saw other campers broomed and choked.
Wheeler told Prescott police that he had been broomed when he attended the same camp six years ago.
