In tiny Norwood, Colorado, a state high-school wrestling tournament turned into a nightmare for one of the team’s youngest members, when the 13-year-old was cornered, bound with duct tape and sodomized with a pencil, in what was called a “hazing” incident.

More outrageous still, is that this was only the beginning of the trauma he endured, after reporting the attack. He was bullied, ostracized, and humiliated on Facebook. Supporters of his attackers wore T-shirts supporting them, two of whom just happened to be sons of the wrestling coach, Robert Harris, according to the Denver Post. Just to add another strange wrinkle to this sad tale, the victim was the son of the school’s principal, begging the question: If he’s not safe, who is?

Sexual assault as part of brutal hazing rituals for sports teams is on the rise, with more than 40 high school boys reporting being sodomized by foreign objects by teammates in the last year. According to the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10 percent of high school boys report being victims of rape of sex assault by peers. Experts also say that the rise in high school hazing has fueled college hazing rituals, and that upping the ante of pain and humiliation is intrinsic to the practice.

Back in Norwood, the victim’s dad heard some boys laughing about assaulting his son and was, understandably horrified, but he did not immediately report the incident to the police. Rather he notified superintendent and the school board. The perps were given a one-day in-school suspension. The father complained, and things got worse for his son, who fortunately had needed no medical attention.

But he was repeatedly harassed and teased.

More: 13-Year-Old Colorado Wrestler Sodomized With a Pencil, Blamed, Teased and His Family Run Out of Town