Parents indicted in beating after Mason middle school volleyball match

Two parents have been indicted for felonious assault after allegedly attacking a man outside a Mason middle-school volleyball match in September.

Gerald Gertz, Jr., 38, and Sarah Hatfield, 38, both of Cincinnati, were initially charged with misdemeanors after Raymond Phipps, 43, of Lebanon, was beaten after the game at St. Susanna School on Reading Road in Mason on Sept. 27.

The charges were increased after prosecutors were advised of the severity of Phipps’ injuries.

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Phipps said he was in a verbal argument with another parent at the girls middle school volleyball game and left. He said he was attacked from behind while on the phone.

“Gerald Gertz Jr. began punching and kicking him in the head and face,” the police report said about Phipps’ account. “While he was on the ground being attacked, he stated he saw a woman standing over him kicking and stomping on his face. The female was later identified by witnesses as Sarah Hatfield.”

The indictments, listed Monday, includes school safety zone specifications.

They are scheduled for arraignment on Friday, Nov. 15, at 8:30 a.m. in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

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