Sisters, sexual assault survivors, accuse N. Lebanon officials of Title IX violation

A Northern Lebanon family is accusing the school district of discriminating against their daughters because the two are sexual assault survivors, which would be a Title IX violation of Pennsylvania state law.

It had been almost six years since Julianna Gundrum, now 15, and Adreanna Gundrum, now 14, were interviewed by detectives about being fondled by their tumbling coach. The case was handled by law enforcement, and the girls were interviewed by law enforcement, counseled by the Sexual Assault & Counseling Center, and moved on from the experience.

Jean Gundrum, the mother of Julianna and Adreanna, did not disclose the name of the coach to Lebanon Daily News because she does not know if he went to trial for what occurred.

Julianna and Andreanna said they didn't let the trauma of what happened to them infect their love of cheering and competing on cheer squads -- until their past was used against them at Northern Lebanon.

The Lebanon Daily News normally does not identify the victims of sexual assault, but Julianna and Adreanna, with support from their mother Jean, both said they wanted to come forward about their sexual assault and the discrimination they say they faced so other survivors won’t have to deal with the same treatment.

Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, and also covers discrimination against victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment in education as well, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education website.

When Jean Gundrum learned that her daughters were being discriminated against by a member of their cheer team because they were sexual assault survivors, she said she was appalled. The assaults were not information the Gundrums shared even with relatives outside the household, Jean said.

Julianna and Adreanna were enrolled in the Northern Lebanon School District high school cheer team this school year when Jean Gundrum was told by the team’s new head coach, Maria Auchenbach, that another cheerleader – the only boy on the team – said he wasn’t allowed to touch either of the girls in a sport known for hands-on stunt performances. This happened in the fall.

“I asked (the head coach) why, and she said she wasn’t allowed to put them in certain stunts (or in certain formations) because they aren’t allowed to be around him,” Jean Gundrum said. “She said this boy (on the squad) and his mother found out that Julianna and Adreanna were sexually assaulted by a tumbling coach six years ago on a squad that had nothing to do with Northern Lebanon – it was a grown man, 50 years old, cops were involved and everything was documented.”

Before the Gundrum girls, with their mother, talked with Lebanon Daily News about what's happened at school, they said they went through the upheaval of changes to the cheer team: Demands by one athlete on the team specifically about the Gundrums, coaching changes, and school officials allegedly sharing the private history of the Gundrums' victimization in school hallways and at sporting events.

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Jean Gundrum told the Lebanon Daily News this week that even though the girls no longer attend NL schools or cheer there, friends still in school have heard discussions between teachers and students in at least one classroom about the cheerleading team and the Gundrum girls' victimization years ago.

The situation cost Julianna Gundrum a spot on the all-star team and a trip to London, England, Jean Gundrum said.

“They had a cheer camp (last summer). In this cheer camp they picked five people to go to London for All Stars. We knew Julianna made it,” Jean Gundrum said. “The Universal Cheerleaders Association people there said she got it."

The head coach who resigned in the middle of the season, Laura McKinney, allowed another boy to come on the all-star squad without paying the team fees and bumped Julianna Gundrum off.

“We found out it was because (the boy) also made it and if Julianna went, then (the boy) wasn’t allowed to go, so they bumped her off,” Jean Gundrum said.

“The person they let on and bumped me off for, he didn’t even go (to London),” Julianna Gundrum said.

The Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) is investigating the incident, according to Jean Gundrum. A statement from the organization was still pending at publication time.

Singled out

Maria Auchenbach, who was assistant coach earlier in the school year and then head coach midyear, told Lebanon Daily News it was a struggle to separate the boy and the Gundrums with such a small squad.

Lebanon Daily News contacted April Tinto, the mother of the boy cheerleader, to get her side of the story.

“I said, ‘I don’t want my son to be responsible for hitting somebody or touching somebody inappropriately.’ I said I wanted the contact to be very limited in what they did,” Tinto said in a phone interview in mid-May.

Jean Gundrum’s husband, Martin, is April Tinto’s stepbrother, but the two families have very little contact with each other, according to Jean Gundrum, who said that while the children on both sides are cordial to one another while in school, the adults haven’t spoken to one another in more than six years.

Tinto did not specifically cite the sexual assault incident, but did mention what she called "family drama" as one of the reasons she didn’t want her son near the Gundrum sisters. She also said she didn’t want her son accused of injuring the sisters if a stunt went wrong. When asked if she was only worried about the Gundrums girls - and no one else - getting injured, she said she didn't want him touching them.

At one point the school's athletic director at the time, David Yavoich, was involved in the discussions to appease Tinto's request for her son and keep him performing at the same level, as well as allowing the Gundrum girls to cheer at their talent level.

When asked for comment recently, Yavoich said he is no longer the athletic director for the school district and so would not answer any questions related to athletics at Northern Lebanon School District.

After being segregated in the cheer squad and having their victim history widely known, the Gundrums say the drama continued. The boy, who Auchenbach acknowledged is a great cheerleader, quit the team, allegedly because he wasn't being used in the sport to his full potential.

April Tinto sent an email complaining about the situation to Northern Lebanon Superintendent Erik Bentzel.

“I went to the superintendent and said, ‘I don’t understand what the problem is because my son shouldn’t have to be benched because I don’t want him to be touching these girls,’” Tinto said. Not being allowed to participate with either of the Gundrum girls had the boy sit out some of the stunts.

The boy eventually came back to the team, even though Auchenbach said the athletic policy there is that once an athlete quits the team, they are out until the next season.

Jean Gundrum said she feels there is no limit to how much - and how often - her daughters' story was shared by school officials.

“We found out that Mrs. (Jennifer) Hassler (The high school principal at Northern Lebanon) had a private meeting with this boy and his mother discussing (Julianna’s and Adreanna’s) sexual assault and discussing how to keep them away from him,” she said.

Meeting with the district

Jean Gundrum said she called district officials numerous times to set up a meeting, and was finally given an appointment in February.

“I requested a meeting with the superintendent and the athletic director – I requested that David Yavoich be there because he had all the information,” Jean said.

She brought with her a representative from the Lebanon-based Sexual Assault Resource Center to try and educate the school's leaders on victims' rights and the importance of not 'outing' victims, Jean Gundrum said.

She wanted the district to recognize that when you repeatedly and openly discuss a victim's assault, it forces them to relive it over and over again.

SARCC is a nonprofit agency funded to provide sexual assault services for Lebanon County including no-cost counseling, supportive services and hotlines.

They also provide individual advocacy and accompaniment.

“An example I give a lot is we provide advocacy and accompaniment to trials,” Ali Perrotto, president and CEO of Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center (SARCC) of Lebanon and Schuylkill counties, said speaking of SARCC services in general and not to the specifics of the Gundrum case.

If a sexual assault survivor has to be a witness at a trial, then SARCC would send advocates to accompany them to provide information, emotional support and to help them understand the court process, Perrotto said. The same applies to other situations where a survivor is struggling with an organization or system.

Jean said the Gundrums did not disclose any information regarding the crime against their daughters to anyone – including family – in the six years following the incident.

When Gundrum arrived at the meeting she found that Yavoich was not present.

“I get there and it’s Mrs. Hassler, a special services worker and (Assistant High School Principal Benjamin) Wenger,” Gundrum said.

Gundrum cited Title IX, saying that the school district was discriminating against her daughters because they were sexual assault survivors.

Bentzel, the school district's Title IX coordinator, was not present at the meeting with Jean Gundrum and SARCC, according to Jean.

Nothing changed after the February meeting, and Adreanna and Julianna Gundrum are no longer with the cheer team.

“We just found out that this boy is (forming) his own cheer squad with Mrs. Hassler backing him,” Jean Gundrum said. “My girls are not allowed on.”

“And it’s the only cheer squad in Northern Lebanon,” Julianna Gundrum said.

Bentzel denied that the boy had his own cheer squad sponsored by Hassler in his May 24 email to the Lebanon Daily News.

“We just let everything go. I didn’t know what else to do,” Jean Gundrum said. “Mrs. Hassler is in the hot seat because I don’t keep my mouth shut. If you’re a parent I’m going to tell you what happened because it could happen to your kid.”

Jean Gundrum has since pulled both Julianna and Adreanna from school and has them enrolled in a cyber school program.

This story is part of a series of stories regarding problems children, parents and teachers have brought up regarding Northern Lebanon School District, including issues that are governed by Pennsylvania law regarding mandatory reporting of some types of incidents.