STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Moore Catholic High School officials knew teacher and basketball coach Megan Mahoney was sexually preying on an underage male student and tried covering it up before railroading the teen and his family when the affair was exposed, a new bombshell lawsuit claims.

The student, Colin Bergen, the suit says, was just 16 at the time of the alleged encounters and was unable to consent to the relationship with the then 25-year-old woman.

Mahoney, identified in the filing as an assistant athletic director, was arrested, but prosecutors later dropped the charges due to "varying statements" allegedly made by the teen and a lack of forensic evidence and corroborating witnesses.

"My hope is that the civil legal procedure will right the wrong the criminal procedure failed to address," said Bergen's attorney Paul Scano. "Colin was the object of a disservice by the Catholic church, Moore and the D.A's office."

Bergen, now 18, and his mother, Kathleen Bergen, are suing Mahoney, 26, Robert Manisero, the former principal; Anthony Ferreri, former chairman of board of directors; Richard Postiglione, former athletic director; Moore Catholic High School; the board of directors; and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York for emotional distress and personal injuries stemming from the incident, says the civil suit, filed this month in state Supreme Court in St. George.

In October 2013, Bergen and Mahoney had sex on school grounds, including in the athletic director's office, the suit alleges.

"He's incapable of consent at that age," Scano said. "Sixteen-year-olds don't have the intellectual or emotional capacity to consent."

Postiglione, the complaint says, was the school's athletic director at the time and Mahoney was promoted to assistant athletic director in September 2012.

According to the court filing, the defendants knew Mahoney had inappropriate sexual contact with other students as well, and tried to cover it up. The defendants also knew Mahoney had a history of these incidents prior to her hire, the suit alleges.

"The defendants..should have known the retention of Megan Mahoney was improper and put the students at Moore Catholic High School at risk," the complaint says.

"A series of wrongs were done to Colin and the other students," Scano said.

After news of the alleged relationship surfaced, the defendants retaliated against Bergen, the family claims in the lawsuit.

The teen, the filings says, was falsely accused of theft and subjected to an unlawful search of him and his car and was expelled from Moore.

A false report to the Administration of Child Services was also made when the relationship was exposed, the complaint alleges.

The family is also suing for pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of enjoyment of life and breach of contract. The suit seeks an unspecified amount in monetary damages.

Bergen has graduated from Tottenville High School and is studying to be an EMT, his lawyer said.

Ferreri, Manisero, Postiglione, the Archdiocese and the school did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

Mahoney hung up on an Advance reporter when reached by phone.

Criminal investigation

Mahoney, a standout basketball player at the former St. Peter's Girls High School and Wagner College, was arrested in October 2014 on felony sex charges and a misdemeanor count of child endangerment.

Prosecutors had accused her of having sex at least 30 times with the then-16-year-old male student of Moore Catholic between Oct. 31, 2013, and Jan. 9, 2014.

Mahoney and the teen had sex at least twice a week during that period, according to allegations in a criminal complaint.

In announcing the dismissal last May, then-District Attorney Daniel Donovan cited no DNA evidence, no admission by the defendant, no witnesses to the alleged affair, no forensic evidence, and no recordings of any contact between Mahoney and Bergen.

The teen waited nine months to inform police about the alleged affair and later gave "varying statements" to investigators, prosecutors said.

Initially, the boy and his family sought civil recourse and avoided speaking with detectives and prosecutors assigned to the case, according to information Donovan's office at the time.

Also, at one point early in the probe, the boy denied any acts ever took place, said prosecutors.

Scano said his client was willing to testify before the grand jury, but the district attorney never presented the case to the grand jury.

"He was treated like the transgressor instead of the victim," Scano said.