Sex-related charges dropped against Bergen Catholic, other counts remain

A judge has thrown out multiple counts of a lawsuit filed by a former Bergen Catholic High School wrestler who alleged he had been sexually abused by his coach, NorthJersey.com reported Friday.

However, of the 12-count lawsuit filed in April by Anthony Asatrian, the judge allowed two aspects of the case to move forward: that he suffered emotional distress as a result of what he claims to be unwanted sexual advances and texts by Bergen Catholic head wrestling coach David Bell ... and that the school allegedly thwarted the wrestler's efforts to transfer to two other area Catholic high schools.

Asatrian -- a two-time district champion for the program ranked No. 2 in the nation by InterMat last season -- had alleged in his lawsuit four months ago that he was sexually abused, sexually assaulted, and sexually harassed during his nearly three years as a wrestler at Bergen Catholic.

No date has been set for the next phase of the trial. However, Superior Court Judge Robert C. Wilson urged both sides in the case to try to reach a settlement, rather than go through a public trial.

"Emotions run high here," Wilson said. "Both the plaintiff's reputation and the defendants' reputation have been so much placed in jeopardy. It hurts all the parties as to what happened in this situation," adding that it was in the best interests of all parties to reach an amicable solution.