Two more plaintiffs have alleged sexual abuse and misconduct by high school staff and signed onto a lawsuit against the Oconto Falls School Board.
Cass Casper, lead counsel on the case with Disparti Law Group, made the announcement March 18, one week after the original lawsuit was filed in federal court.
“We’ve had an outpouring of support and outreach from the community about the allegations in this case,” he said. “As a result of that, we’ve had, so far, six additional students come forward and report to us allegations of teacher-student sexual abuse, grooming or, in one instance, student-to-student sexual assault that was not properly handled by the district.”
He also said two former teachers — Bridget Thomas and Tania Jersey — have come forward saying they reported sexual abuse and sexual harassment by a teacher against fellow teachers and students directly to the school board in 2015.
“The board did not take their reports seriously, and they promoted — they gave a promotion to the man that Tania and Bridget were reporting sexually harassed them and other teachers and was sexting with another student,” Casper said.
Jersey left the district shortly thereafter, and Thomas’ contract with the district was not renewed.
In the original lawsuit, Amanda Watzka, Brooke La Count and Grace Williams claimed they were abused and groomed by teachers and coaches while district officials did nothing to stop the abuse. The abuse allegedly occurred at various times over the past 15 years.
Now, the three women are joined by Brianna Kain and Kayla Kasper as plaintiffs.
Kain’s claim is based on the board’s “systemic pattern and practice of deliberate indifference to teacher-student grooming and sexual abuse,” according to the complaint.
Kasper, a 2012 graduate, also claimed the board was indifferent to teacher-student grooming and sexual misconduct, which enabled and emboldened a staff member’s open and pervasive sexual misconduct toward her and other female students.
“She avoided engaging with the subject matter of his classes because engaging meant risking proximity to him,” the complain said. “She would skip questions, accept failing scores on individual assignments and do the minimum necessary to pass — not because she lacked interest in the subject, but because she could not focus on learning in an environment in which she was afraid of her teacher.”
Alexis Neeley, a member of the high school cheer team in 2013-14 said she was sexually assaulted at a cheer team overnight sleepover and movie marathon. When she reported the incident to then-Principal Bruce Russell, she was told that because it did not happen on school grounds, the district could take no action. She received the same response when she reported the case to former athletic director Jerry Moynihan, the complaint said.
Neeley is not a plaintiff but has submitted a sworn declaration and consents to its inclusion in the lawsuit.
Casper said a Wisconsin Student Bill of Rights piece of legislation was drafted and will be presented to lawmakers to consider.
The proposal includes eight enumerated student rights that place additional mandatory obligations on school boards to document and investigate these kinds of reports, and it creates additional reporting and enforcement measures.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
