A former student of Columbia High School has filed a lawsuit against the East Greenbush School District, alleging that the district knew or should have known that a teacher had sexually abused him and other students. The former student alleged the sexual abuse happened to him in 1979 and 1980. Filed in August, his lawsuit was allowed to be filed outside of the statute of limitations because of the look-back window in the New York Child Victims Act.
Sex abuse allegations
The complaint against the Albany-area school district alleges that the former teacher sexually abused the plaintiff at the teacher’s home and at school. The teacher began grooming the plaintiff in ninth grade and gradually began forcing him to engage in forced oral sex and touching. Other children also were allegedly abused by the teacher, and the plaintiff says that the school district either knew or should have known that the abuse was occurring.
Teacher allowed to retire
The teacher continued to teach at the high school for a couple of decades after the victim’s sex abuse. In 2003, the superintendent of the district reprimanded him based on a police report that found there was credible evidence that the teacher had supplied students with alcohol and had engaged in inappropriate physical touching. However, he was allowed to continue teaching until 2007. At that time, he submitted his resignation and received handwritten thank you cards from the administration thanking him for his work at the school. He was never charged and was instead allowed to simply surrender his teaching license.
Adults who were abused as children may want to consult with experienced attorneys about filing New York Child Victims Act sex abuse claims. The look-back window might allow victims to file lawsuits against the perpetrators even if the statute of limitations has passed.
