Editor’s note: This story includes descriptions of sexual assault.

Two men who claim former Olympic athlete and Syracuse University student Conrad Mainwaring sexually abused them sued the university Tuesday for failing to investigate allegations of his abuse.

The two lawsuits, filed separately in Onondaga County, allege that SU “knowingly and willingly failed” to conduct proper investigations into credible claims Mainwaring was abusing young boys in his dorm, where he worked as a resident adviser.

Mainwaring, who was a graduate student at SU in the 1980s, has been accused of molesting seven SU students during his time on campus, according to an ESPN investigation released in August. At least 14 men in the Syracuse area have accused Mainwaring of abuse, including at least seven local high school students.

From about 1980 until 1986, Mainwaring provided counseling, coaching and advice to student athletes, including high school students, the lawsuits state. It is unclear whether Mainwaring was ever contracted as a coach at SU.

Plaintiff Robert Druger, a Camillus eye surgeon, is suing the Syracuse City School District and its Board of Education in addition to SU and the Board of Trustees. The other plaintiff, John Shapiro, a California man, is also suing a Massachusetts summer camp where he interacted with Mainwaring.

Druger, whose willingness to come forward has been credited with leading to Mainwaring’s arrest in June 2019, alleged that Mainwaring used his Brewster/Boland/Brockway complex dorm room at SU to rub, fondle and masturbate Druger.

SU did not properly vet, screen or research Mainwaring and provided him “unfettered and unsupervised access” to campus facilities to meet with underage male high school students and young male college students, the lawsuit alleges.

The university allowed minors and male college students to meet with Mainwaring privately in his dorm room and stay overnight, the lawsuit alleges. Druger’s abuse continued from the time he was 17 until he graduated from SU, the suit says.

Shapiro said SU allowed him to stay overnight in Mainwaring’s dorm room on at least two occasions in 1981 and 1982 when he was 16 and 17. He was sexually abused, molested and sexually assaulted both times, the lawsuit alleges.

Mainwaring met with victims in his dorm room under the guise of “physiotherapy,” “physical therapy” and mental training sessions, the lawsuits claim.

Druger and Shapiro both allege that SU was aware Mainwaring was sexually abusing and assaulting minor students prior to their abuse, the lawsuits state. Despite “warnings, notice and red flags,” the university continued to allow Mainwaring access to isolated, one-on-one meetings with young men that led to abuse, the lawsuits state.

SU said it first learned of allegations against Mainwaring in February 2019. The university acknowledged he was a graduate student in the 1980s and worked in the university’s dorms. As of SU’s August 2019 statement, Chancellor Kent Syverud said the university had hired an external law firm to conduct a review of the allegations.

Many of Mainwaring’s victims were members of his “squad,” a group of students and young males whom he coached and advised, ESPN reported.

Mainwaring kept office hours as a counselor at Nottingham High School, about two miles from SU, where he met and allegedly abused minors, ESPN reported. Syracuse City School District officials found no records of him being a staff member or volunteer at the high school.

After his five years in Syracuse, Mainwaring worked 40 miles away at Colgate University from 1985 to 1987 in the admissions office, according to ESPN’s report.

No charges have been filed against Mainwaring in Syracuse. He cannot be prosecuted for abusing the underage boys because the incidents happened too long ago, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told Syracuse.com in August.

New York’s 2019 Child Victims Act extended the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims in the state from age 23 to 55. The law also suspends the statute of limitations for one year, allowing any victim of childhood sexual abuse to bring a claim against the individuals and institutions responsible for their abuse. The window ends on Aug. 14.

Published on February 25, 2020 at 11:14 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3