The lawsuit was originally filed in July in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, but an amended complaint was filed six days ago.
The band teacher, Christopher Knehans pleaded guilty in February to two counts of felony sexual contact, received a three-year suspended sentence and served 60 days shock time in the Cole County Jail.
Knehans had already resigned from his teaching position, had his teaching certificate revoked, and has registered as a sex offender.
The lawsuit alleges that Principal Paul Dodson and Assistant Principal Tammy Ridgeway had ample evidence that Knehans was not behaving properly with the girl. The petition alleges that the district, Dodson, and Ridgeway failed to receive, investigate, and act on complaints, failed to train Knehans properly,violated Title IX, and was negligent.
Knehans is cited for the sexual violations, as well as infliction of emotional distress, a charge which is also leveled against the district, Dodson, and Ridgeway.
Though the district has not had time to respond to the amended complaint, it did respond to the original complaint, denying everything except that the girl had been a student in Knehans' class.
The allegations are provided below:
Plaintiff Doe is a female and was a minor until she turned eighteen (18) in 2012. Plaintiff Doe was a student of Defendant Knehans’ starting her 7th grade year and until her senior year at Jefferson City High School, where Defendant Knehans was a band instructor working in the band department and under the supervision of Defendant Dodson and Defendant Ridgeway.
As Principal of Jefferson City High School, Defendant Dodson had a duty to supervise and properly train employees, including Knehans, investigate complaints of sexual abuse and harassment, and protect the safety of students on school premises, including Plaintiff Doe.
As Assistant Principal of Jefferson City High School, Defendant Ridgeway had a duty to supervise and properly train employees, including Knehans, and had a duty to protect the safety of students on school premises, including Plaintiff Doe.
All of the events alleged herein took place in or around the month of August in the year of 2010 to the month of September in the year of 2011.
The director of the band department, Paul Hinman (“Hinman”), expressed concerns to District officials and Knehans over Defendant Knehans’ relations with Plaintiff Doe as early as September of 2010. Hinman observed the following, which in their entirety led him to believe in an improper and/or sexual relationship between Knehans and Doe, on a daily basis: Knehans and Doe in Knehans’ office alone with the door closed, Knehans talking to Doe alone on the school front steps, Knehans walking Doe to the parking lot, and student conversations regarding Knehans’ sexual interest in Plaintiff. On or about this time, Hinman confronted Knehans about the perception of impropriety in his dealings with Doe, after which, he observed that the relations between Knehans and Doe did not change.
During the months following the communications between Hinman and Knehans as described above, Hinman received phone calls from parents expressing similar concerns. Hinman reported these phone calls to the office of Defendant Dodson and Defendant Ridgeway and was told to tell parents to contact their office directly with complaints about Knehans.
Despite receiving reports from faculty, parents, and students, District officials did not conduct any investigations to discover the truth of these allegations. Defendant Ridgeway and Defendant Dodson had informal meetings with Knehans about how to deal with the allegations against him regarding Plaintiff specifically, but no remedial action was taken.
District officials did not interview Plaintiff Doe or her parents until Knehans was put on administrative leave
approximately one year later on or around September 27, 2011.
In or around May of 2010, Plaintiff Doe reached out to Defendant Knehans for help in dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts. Knehans gave Plaintiff Doe his personal e-mail in or around May of 2011. Knehans did not report Plaintiff Doe’s state of depression to counseling services or other authorities at the School at any point in time.
In or around June of 2011, Defendant Knehans told Plaintiff Doe on School grounds that he was in love with her and sometime later that he wanted to divorce his current wife. Communications continued to transpire between Knehans and Doe regarding Doe’s depression and Knehan’s problems with his wife and children at home by way of e-mailing and text messaging.
Physical interactions began in or around August of 2011.
Despite Defendant District officials’ continuing duty to investigate the sexual abuse and harassment and protect Plaintiff and other students, the School District officials did not conduct any formal investigation of said abuse or harassment on Plaintiff or interview Plaintiff until the day of Knehan's arrest, as detailed below.
The only reported investigation was done by Hinman, who noted that he spoke with Plaintiff privately at one point to express his concern regarding Defendant Knehans’ relationship with her and to inform her that he viewed her as a victim.
Plaintiff Doe admitted feeling that Defendant Knehans was “crossing a line” when he would wait to meet with her until dark starting in or around August of 2011, so that no one could recognize them.
Approximately one year after the initial complaints, on or around August 18, 2011, District officials were present at an ice cream social event hosted by Jefferson City School Band Boosters discussing concerns over Defendant Knehans’ relations with Plaintiff Doe, overhearing students’ discussions regarding the same, and listening to complaints by parents regarding the same.
At said event on or around August 18, 2011, Hinman approached Band Booster member, Captain Greg Kindle (“Captain Kindle”) of the Missouri Highway State Patrol to inquire about his legal obligations as a mandated reporter of Knehans’ relations with Doe. Captain Kindle then approached Defendant Dodson and was asked to watch Knehans’ interactions with Doe.
After said event ended, both Dodson and Hinman received more parent phone calls. In the weeks that followed, Hinman continued to give District officials updates about his observations between Knehans and Doe.
As reported by Hinman and band students of Defendant Knehans, as early as August of 2010 and as late as September of 2011, sexual contact was suspected as Knehans persistently made all students but Plaintiff leave his office in the mornings so as to be alone with Plaintiff Doe with the door shut.
After said meeting, Hinman noted that Knehans appeared not to have been disciplined to the extent that he acted purposely and more blatantly about his improper relations with Plaintiff Doe.
At no time and to no one did Knehans offer any explanations for his behavior toward Plaintiff. Knehans did not guarantee any change in his dealings with Plaintiff. Knehans did not deny to District officials the allegations made against him until he was asked to make a written statement on the day of his arrest.
Later in the evening of the day of the meeting, Defendant Knehans and Plaintiff Doe engaged in a sexual act in Knehans’ truck at a local park. Weeks prior, Knehans and Doe engaged in sexual touching while lying naked in Knehans’ bed at his home. During a prior band event, students saw Defendant Knehans texting Plaintiff Doe and accused Plaintiff and Knehans of having sexual relations.
On or around August 25, 2011, Defendant Knehans and Plaintiff Doe were spotted by one of Knehans’ students engaging in sexual activity at a local park.
On or around August 26, 2011, Defendant Dodson and Defendant Ridgeway received this particular complaint by a parent phone call.
Both Defendant Dodson and Defendant Assistant Principal Ridgeway knew of the sexual harassment and that it was continuing to hold the attention of the student body, staff, and parents as evidenced by the fact that they continued to receive complaints by Hinman and parents, whose children also reported frequent observations, on a consistent basis.
Approximately one month after the ice cream social and said parent phone call, on September 23, 2011, a meeting was held before the entire band department staff regarding “housekeeping” matters. After said meeting, Defendant Dodson and Defendant Ridgeway met with Knehans privately to make him aware
of allegations against him, which were described non-specifically and without reference to Plaintiff, and to instruct him on how to deal with allegations generally. During the meeting, Defendant Ridgeway observed Knehans leg shaking nervously.
Defendant Dodson’s and Defendant Ridgeway’s decisions not to thoroughly investigate the allegations, or take remedial action against the known sexual harassment, both in this instance and in prior instances defined herein, were contrary to the Board Policy.
On September 26, 2011, Knehans contacted Assistant Principal Ridgeway to express his concern that student discussions were becoming significantly widespread and pervasive. Assistant Principal Ridgeway responded the next day by asking Knehans to make a written statement.
After the Jefferson City Police Department was informed by Defendant District of suspicious activity on
September 27, 2011, Plaintiff was interviewed for the first time by a police officer of said department.
Defendant Knehans was arrested at his home later that night and was charged with and subsequently pleaded guilty to Sexual Contact with a Student, a violation of MO. REV. STAT. § 566.086.
Many reports of sexual contact and suspected sexual contact were made to District officials so as to constitute actual notice to them.
District officials, including Defendant Dodson and Defendant Ridgeway, did not make changes to the educational environment, did not respond to or thoroughly investigate reports, and did not prevent incidents of sexual abuse and harassment; the officials’ responsive action was limited to telling Hinman to send parent complaints to their office directly, and giving Knehans instructions in dealing with non-specific allegations made against him.
As evidenced by the aforementioned discussions, reports, informal meetings with Knehans regarding his
relationship with Plaintiff, and Defendant Dodson’s and Defendant Ridgeway’s decisions not to exercise authority to take corrective measures, Defendant District officials were deliberately indifferent, at Plaintiff’s expense, in the sense that they had actual knowledge of the initial sexual harassment, failed to prevent it for a substantial amount of time, exhibited willful blindness by not conducting investigations, and essentially ignored the complaints of all faculty, students, and parents for a year.
No comments:
Post a Comment