If you see flaws in the reporting then by all means point them out. But diminishing the reporting because it's done by team of college students is lazy
You asked for it. From Roar More on the PSU board. He seems to understand "proof" far more than me. Was a 30 year investigator for the feds. I take that to be FBI:
"Warning, this is long.
After reading the article, this is what I know for sure - it is poorly written and poorly documented. Way too much is innuendo where there should be specifics. There is not enough corroboration where there easily could be some. This is not a
she said/he said. So far, it is a
shes said. These charges may be true. I guess time will tell. I spent over thirty years as an investigator for the feds. It was civil investigations with a couple of criminal ones tossed in. I spent my later years as a supervisor and trainer. If an investigator brought this to me, I would send them out for more information before taking further action.
Here are my critiques, some picayune, most not. Starting at the beginning of the article and working my way through:
It is the Lorenzo Wrestling
Complex, not
Center. (I warned you some would be picayune.) Come on. You're supposed to be a journalist. At least get your setting right.
Jane and Ava said they were sixteen or seventeen when they had their contacts with Starocci. Were the ages confirmed? If so, state it. If not, just laziness.
Jane said she was in the sauna with Starocci several times after hours. Times would be nice. (This seems like a chancey thing to do considering that the wrestling team shares at least their weight room with the women's volleyball team.) How about confirming if non-athletes had access to the sauna. How long are security camera files kept?
Was the training partner who Jane said saw her in the sauna interviewed? For that matter, were the wrestlers who were interviewed asked about non-athlete access to the sauna and locker area? Again, lazy writing and investigating. There were three wrestlers interviewed, including Beau, and this allegation was just taken at face value without any apparent corroboration.
Did Starocci's girlfriend tell him that she got her information from Sydney Bartlett? Was she interviewed? Was there even an attempt made to interview her? If the alleged theft was supposedly made in retaliation for the breakup, it would be helpful to know if Starocci knew that Sydney was involved.
Beau said, "They (the coaches) kept asking if I found my stuff but none of them questioned who took it." I think this means that they did not question that Starocci took it, but it could also mean that they never asked who Beau thought took it. More sloppy writing.
The article stated that Beau opened an investigation (more sloppy writing - Beau filed a complaint, the police opened an investigation) on the "lost" items. Were they lost or stolen? Again, sloppy writing. I am assuming Beau said they were stolen because the police did look into the matter.
The writer obtained text messages about the investigation. Whose text messages and how were they obtained? How about hauling you butt a few blocks across campus and attempt to get a copy of the official report.
"Penn State police were unable to contact Starocci over the course of the nearly six month investigation, Beau said." And he knew this how? Readers should not be using their imaginations to fill in banks. The writer depends upon that too much instead of providing supporting documentation.
What do we know about the locker room video other than Starocci was not holding anything in his hands? Was he wearing a backpack? That would be useful information.
"Jacqueline Sheader, a public information officer confirmed UPPS investigated a theft allegation through their criminal investigations unit. Sheader said the investigation was closed on June 4." More sloppy writing. An investigation of what? I assume that the writer meant an investigation into Beau's missing items.
"Everyone who spoke with the Collegian echoed fear in having their names public while speaking about Starocci." I am not asking for names here, but at least tell me how many people we are talking about. We know of five: Jane, Ava, Beau, and two other wrestlers.
“He is intimidating and the things he would do against people who are against him are very concerning and disgusting,” Ava, a Penn State sophomore who requested anonymity, said. More vagueness. How about some examples of the "things."
The locker room pictures are the first thing supported by other testimony. I have no idea as to the motivation of Starocci here so I will not speculate. I have no reason to believe that this complaint is not accurate, although the writer only got confirmation from "Oliver" when "Mark" was also available to confirm.
"In practice, Beau and Oliver said Starocci would constantly grab their genitals and place his fingers into their backsides during practices. Mark also said Starocci became frustrated during a training match and strongly struck his head with his knee." Others have spoken to this. I was not a wrestler so I cannot comment on whether or not such contact is normal during training. I will leave it to others to explain if, given the training partners available, it would be unusual for a 141 pounder to be grappling with a 184. I will say that "place his fingers into their backsides" is rather imprecise. Are we talking about grabbing a butt or delving into Ferrari territory?
"Beau, Oliver and another teammate all told the Collegian that Starocci continued to touch other wrestlers inappropriately in the training room, sometimes in front of Sanderson." Again, leaving things to a reader's imagination is not a good thing.
"They also reported knowledge of rumors of Starocci’s sexual misconduct and inappropriate interactions with minors." First of all, reporting on rumors is not a good look. Secondly, minors? If you report something like that, you damn well better have something more than rumors. As others have said in this thread, sixteen is the age of consent in PA with someone more than four years older.
"Ava said she met Starocci through mutual friends during her freshman year in 2023. She said she was with a group of friends, all ages 16 and 17, while Starocci sent explicit images to them." Explicit images of what? Again, don't leave things to a reader's imagination. This accusation should not be left to speculation.
Okay, no further comment on the article. Something probably happened. I just would need more facts and less inuendo to be convinced.
And speaking of inuendo, I am not surprised that victim shaming has already begun. What else could be behind claiming that Jane and Ava are Only Fans models? They are anonymous. Just because someone on Only Fans, or wherever, has claimed some things about Starocci, that doesn't make them true and that does not mean they are the same people who have come forward in this article.
One more thing, for those stating that the wrestlers would not put up with the allegations about Starocci inappropriately touching them, I suggest you watch the HBO documentary about Ohio State."
