Suit Alleges That District Negligently Allowed 14-Year-Old Boy To Escort 7-Year-Old Girl To A Classroom Where He Sexually Assaulted Her in January
A lawsuit was filed earlier this month in State Supreme Court/ Sullivan County alleging that the Livingston Manor School District was negligent by allowing a 14-year-old male student to escort a 7-year-old female student alone to a classroom and that the boy sexually assaulted the girl in that classroom in January.
The suit, which also names Superintendent John Evans and the boy's mother as defendants, alleges that the boy was known to school officials to have sexually assaulted three other female minors at the school.
"The defendants SCHOOL DISTRICT and JOHN EVANS, their employees, teachers, and staff allowed the defendant to repeatedly sexually assault the infant plaintiff, despite time and opportunity to prevent the misconduct.," the lawsuit alleged. "The defendants SCHOOL DISTRICT and JOHN EVANS, their employees, teachers, and staff knew or should have known of the repeated sexual assault of the infant plaintiff by the defendant but failed to prevent same."
The suit further alleged that "The defendant SCHOOL DISTRICT and JOHN EVANS were aware of prior complaints of inappropriate conduct by defendant against other female students."
The SullivanTimes on Wednesday reached out to Evans this afternoon for comment. In response, he wrote:
"As this is ongoing litigation, I am unable to comment at this time. The district will share information as appropriate as the litigation progresses."
News of the lawsuit comes at a time when Livingston Manor and Roscoe are studying the possibility of merging their districts.
The districts are also planning to host a series of forums about the possible merger, scheduled as follows:
July 19: 6:30-7:30 p.m. via Zoom (link to be provided)
July 21: 10-11 a.m., Roscoe CSD (in-person)
July 21: 3-4 p.m., Livingston Manor CSD (in-person)
Editor's Note: Because of the age of the victim (s) and defendant, the names will not be published. Initials of the defendant and victims have also been removed.
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