A woman who has remained unidentified in the news due to the nature of a civil lawsuit she has filed has requested punitive damages in a claim against a Wyoming school district. The woman attended school there in her youth. She is a sexual assault survivor, and the perpetrator was her seventh-grade teacher. The woman is suing the school district for failure to act appropriately when informed multiple times about the teacher’s questionable conduct at the time.
Numerous school employees have come forward to testify that they witnessed inappropriate behavior by the teacher and reported it several times. However, no investigation or disciplinary action was ever taken. The principal of the school also admitted that he made note of an incident he had witnessed and added it to the teacher’s records.
The woman was an adopted daughter of the teacher at one point
In her teen years, the plaintiff in the civil lawsuit against the school district moved into her teacher’s home. At some point, he became her adoptive parent. Sexual abuse reportedly took place for several years. The school district was allegedly made aware of the adoption but did not notify the girl’s parents.
In her claim against the school district, the woman alleges that the school never offered her any support or counseling, and school officials did not investigate the teacher or report the sexual abuse. She was 14 when the abuse took place. A jury trial has been requested. Legal guidance would be especially beneficial in cases like this where a survivor of sexual assault is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against a third party.