Lawsuit claims U of M failed to investigate, report sex abuse allegations against former hockey coach

A federal lawsuit has been filed against the University of Minnesota claiming the school failed to investigate or report sex abuse allegations made against former assistant coach Thomas "Chico" Adrahtas.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota by several hockey players who interacted with Adrahtas.

Adrahtas served as an assistant hockey coach for the University of Minnesota’s men’s hockey team from 1984-85.

The lawsuit alleges Adrahtas had assaulted the plaintiffs between 1983 and 2018. The plaintiffs were between the ages of 15 and 20 years old when the alleged abuse occurred.

According to the lawsuit, Adrahtas ran a scheme where he claimed he knew a woman who would perform sexual acts on the players, however, they would have to be blindfolded. The lawsuit claims the person performing the acts was actually Adrahtas.

U of M investigating ex-hockey assistant sex allegations

In 1985, hockey players who had caught on to fact that Adrahtas was abusing players reported the coach to the university, according to the lawsuit.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say the U of M did not investigate or report the allegations and instead covered them up by allowing Adrahtas to resign, eliminating the rest of the coaching staff and withdrawing a scholarship from one of the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit states Adrahtas "has since admitted he was forced to resign because of sexual misconduct with UMN hockey players."

After Adrahtas left the U of M, he continued to coach in numerous hockey organizations, where other claims of abuse have been made as well, according to the lawsuit.

In 2020, the Associated Press reported the U of M was investigating allegations against Adrahtas after a report regarding the sexual abuse allegations was published in The Athletic.

The university declined to comment on the lawsuit.