November 10, 1999
Web posted at: 8:17 a.m. EST (1317 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A student expelled from a Catholic high school for putting what the school called questionable material on his personal Web site and allegedly inviting other students to visit is suing the school for $1 million.

Peter Ubriaco, 15, filed a lawsuit against Albertus Magnus High School in federal court on Monday, saying his constitutional rights to free speech and privacy were violated by his expulsion on April 28, when he was still a freshman.

In response to the suit, Joseph Troy, president of Albertus Magnus High School, told CNN, "The Web site was not appropriate for the Catholic values of our school. He encouraged other students to log on to his Web site from school."

Troy said Ubriaco was expelled under the safety, welfare and behavior clause in the school handbook.

At a press conference to announce the suit Tuesday afternoon, Ubriaco's attorney, George Shebitz, said, "It is our belief that even a private school student doesn't lose the protections of the United States Constitution ... when he is acting in the comfort of his own home."

Ubriaco admitted there were curse words on the Web site. His father said it was more about things his son thought were fun to do. These things included telling people to go to the mall and shout the word "penis" at the top of their lungs, his lawyer acknowledged.

Troy said he was surprised when he learned of the lawsuit. "The parents when they were here were very upset with him, and now I am confused about their response to his expulsion," he said.

Troy said he couldn't give specific examples of what caused them to expel Ubriaco because of the pending lawsuit. "There were other things besides cursing and what has been told of in the media that was very disturbing to us. There was a lot of pornography and violence on his Web site."

Ubriaco's father, Joseph Ubriaco, emphatically denied this.

"There was absolutely no pornography on that Web site. There were curse words that should have been dealt with by myself and his mother, which we took action to, but other than that there was nothing violent against anyone," he said.

Troy said the school warned Ubriaco many times before expelling him.

"There's clearly miscommunication in terms of the facts," Shebitz said. "There was no pornography. There were no threats to anyone within the school. There were no suspensions, so I'm not certain what the true facts are, and that's what court systems are all about.

"We believe that Peter, as all students, don't lose their constitutional rights merely because they enter a school or enter a private school -- that they retain constitutional rights, particularly when they are at home."

Ubriaco finished the school year at Nanuet public High School in suburban Rockland County.