More Accusations of Misconduct Levied Against Penn State Wrestling

A little more than two weeks after initially being accused of misconduct, more accusations against Penn State wrestling legend Carter Starocci have come to light.

Penn State Wrestling Legend Carter Starocci Accused of Misconduct

These accusations were brought to light by Evan Smith of The Daily Collegian.

Two female Penn State students also accused Starocci of sexual assault. Bartlett and another teammate also claim that Starocci would “constantly grab their genitals and place his fingers into their backsides during practices.”

HOW WORD GOT OUT

The public got idea that something could have been up earlier this month, with the catalyst being a lengthy message board post by Beau Bartlett and a Facebook reply by Sydney.

Beau Bartlett made multiple references to damage done by a specific individual.

Although Beau never mentioned Starocci specifically, what Syd commented on Facebook hinted that Starocci was who he was referring to.

A user by the name of Nittany Lion posted The Wrestling Room’s Facebook forum that Starocci was being investigated for “stealing from other PSU teammates.”

Sydney Bartlett, the wife of Starocci’s former responded to the post.

“He (Starocci) was being investigated for theft,” Bartlett wrote. “Aside from that investigation, he violated several of his teammates that are absolutely not appropriate in any way and to my knowledge faced no repressions for that behavior. I do not care how talented an individual is, how beneficial they may be for a team’s optics or results. If they are causing discomfort of ANY DEGREE in the locker room or outside of it, IN MY OPINION, action should be taken. End of story.”

Now, there’s more out there.

THE ALLEGATIONS

Smith’s article details some specific incidents that the Bartlett’s alluded to in their posts.

The Bartletts told the Collegian that, late last year, they were informed of a sexual assault accusation against Starocci, and Sydney said it wasn’t the first she had heard of it.

A woman who “requested anonymity due to concerns about unwanted attention” (written as “Jane” in the article) told the Collegian that Starocci started direct messaging her on Instagram in 2023, when he was 22 and she was 17.

Jane said Starocci invited her both to his house and to the LWC sauna more than once and was aware of her age.

An excerpt reads:

“After arriving for her freshman year at Penn State, she accepted Starocci’s invites to the LWC gym, where he met her at night alone or with a training partner present. She said Starocci allowed her into the wrestling team’s locker room and sauna on multiple occasions.”

“He had groomed me to feel comfortable with him,” Jane said. “The whole experience feels extremely manipulating.”

In the fall, Starocci invited Jane to his home to watch a movie.

This is where Jane alleges that Starocci raped her twice.

She told the Collegian that, after that night, the last time she saw him was “when she asked him to purchase her an emergency contraceptive pill the next morning.”

“After processing the experience,” the Collegian writes, “she said she began confiding in her friends and others who had similar stories about Starocci. Mutual connections eventually brought her story to the Bartletts.”

“The conversation was the last straw for Sydney, who informed Starocci’s girlfriend of the stories she had heard by December.”

Sydney told the Collegian that Starocci’s girlfriend thanked her and expressed her desire to end the relationship.

Another Penn State student said that Starocci sexually assaulted her while she was at his house “for a friendly visit.”

“As I was leaving,” she told The Collegian, “he pushed his body up against mine and proceeded to touch me inappropriately without saying anything. I have kept quiet about these situations out of fear I would be seen as just some random girl trying to ruin his career, which unfortunately, he seems to be doing to himself.”