District to appeal $1.3 million verdict in lawsuit filed by sexually assaulted Joplin High School student

The Joplin R-8 School District today filed a notice of appeal in the Southern District Court of Appeals of the verdict in a lawsuit filed by a Joplin High School student who was sexually assaulted in 2016.

In the trial, which was held December 6-9, 2021, in Jasper County Circuit Court, the jury found in favor of the student, who is referred to in court records as Jane Doe G. C.

The jury awarded $817,000 to the plaintiff, $518,790 in attorney fees and $15,583 in costs for a total of $1,351,373.

The jury did not award punitive damages.

Jane Doe told her story in documents filed with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights in 2016.

I first met (the boy) at my school, Joplin High School, when we had a class together during first hour in the fall of 2015. The next semester, in January 2016, he began to message me on Facebook asking if we could have sex.

I said, "No way." That semester, I had fifth hour with (him) in the international foods class. We were on a team together with some other friends. We started talking again then the real harassment began.

He would message me asking if we could have sex, send me (penis) pictures and say he was horny.

When my boyfriend broke up with me, I told (a friend in that class) about it. Then he began asking me if I wanted to meet up and have sex. I told him no, I am going through a bad break up. I became infuriated with him pestering me to "show me your body" and other comments.

On February 24, 2016, I was already having a bad day after breaking up with my boyfriend and needed a hug from a friend. (He) had me sit down under a rock ledge under the back stairs, then he shoved me down, pulled down my pants and raped me.

I was telling him no, to stop, but he just kept going. Finally, I used my knee and shoved him off.

He sat down and while I was crying and slowing getting my pants back on, he said, "I was helping you get over (her boyfriend)."

I left in a hurry back to my seventh hour and my friend (name redacted) saw me (we had seventh hour together, as well). I told her everything that happened and then later reported the rape to police with my parents.

was not able to return to classes at Joplin High School after that. It took more than a month for the school district to accommodate me with classes on line to take so I could finish my course work and graduate.

We found out from the prosecuting attorney's office while they were investigating my case that there had been 10 other incidents regarding Joplin High School, including three rapes.