John Doe v. Bellwood-Antis School District & Jane Doe v. Bellwood-Antis School District

Case Numbers: 2021-GN-782 & 2021-GN-141

Court: Court of Common Pleas of Blair County, Pennsylvania

Client: Altoona Mirror

Motion to Intervene and Unseal Filed: Oct. 22, 2021

Background: In February 2020, Ryan Blazier, then a wrestling coach at Bellwood-Antis Middle School in Blair County, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with multiple child sex crimes. The Altoona Mirror has been reporting on the criminal case against Blazier, which recently concluded with his conviction on several counts, as well as two civil lawsuits against the school district that employed him.

Filings in the criminal case have been open for public inspection, but the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County completely sealed the two civil lawsuits in February 2021. On behalf of the Altoona Mirror, Paula Knudsen Burke, the Reporters Committee’s Local Legal Initiative attorney in Pennsylvania, filed a motion to intervene and unseal court records in the two civil cases.

Update: On Dec. 20, 2021, the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County granted the Altoona Mirror’s motion to unseal the majority of the records in the two pending civil cases.

Filings:

2021-10-22: Motion to intervene and unseal

2021-12-20: Order

2021-12-20: Order