WENTZVILLE — Wentzville School District officials failed to intervene when a minor student sexually harassed, assaulted and molested another minor student for months while at school, according to a lawsuit filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court.
School officials also didn’t tell the girl’s parents about the alleged abuse until months later, when it left visible marks on her body, and kept the students in the same classrooms, the suit claims.
The victim, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, was a sixth-grade student at Frontier Middle School at the time she endured the attacks from a male classmate during the 2022-2023 school year. The suit alleges a male classmate with a “distorted and abnormal sexual attraction or obsession†toward Doe fondled Doe’s buttocks, displayed pornography to her during school hours and, at one point, pummeled her to the ground to “hump†her.
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The suit does not name the boy or include his age. It said authorities eventually arrested and charged him with second-degree sexual abuse and fourth-degree assault in St. Charles County Juvenile Court.
In a statement to the Post-Dispatch, Grant Boyd, one of Doe’s attorneys, said Doe withdrew from the Wentzville School District because of what happened.
“Her and her family feel that the district failed to protect her and prioritize her safety,†Boyd said. “The events have left significant damage on Doe, including eroding her trust in institutions to do the right thing.â€
A spokesperson for Wentzville said the district cannot comment on pending litigation.
The alleged events in the suit occurred during the 2022-2023 school year.
In mid-February 2023, the suit claims the boy forced Doe onto her back during gym class, punched her, laid on top of her, and moved his hips on top of her genital area in a “humping†motion and said to the effect of “I want to have sex with you.†A gym teacher viewed the incident and told the boy to get away, according to the lawsuit.
Between mid-February of 2023 to May 2023, “for purposes of his sexual gratification,†the boy showed Doe images and videos of pornography — including those involving animals having sex and humans engaged in sexual activities with animals — on his phone and/or school-issued Chromebook laptop, the suit states.
Around the same time, the boy also slapped and fondled Doe’s buttocks, the lawsuit alleges. And, on “several†occasions throughout the school year, the boy is accused of fondling the genitals of at least four male students near Doe so she’d see his actions.
Two students reported the boy’s behavior to one of Doe’s teachers in late April, according to the girl’s lawyers.
Throughout the year, Doe had met with her student counselor and confided in her about the encounters. Still, the district did not tell Doe’s parents about the abuse, the suit states.
“Defendants each witnessed or obtained actual or constructive knowledge, or should have known of, each such incident, and repeatedly and continually failed to take prompt and effective remedial actions to stop and prevent them,†the suit states.
The district only notified Doe’s parents when the boy scratched her. On May 1, 2023, he tried to draw a heart on Doe’s arm with a sharp corner of a cardboard box and foil, breaking her skin, the lawsuit states. She saw a school nurse and Doe’s parents were notified of “some but not all†the incidents for the first time the following day, her lawyers say.
Statements of student witnesses were taken, but Doe was “not allowed†to write her own statement, according to the lawsuit.
She was instead interrogated by then-Assistant Principal Amber Houdei, who omitted any references to the humping incident, the suit alleges. Houdei wrote the boy humped and punched Doe in the margin of the statement after Doe insisted, the suit further notes.
“In violation of WSD’s own policies and regulations, Doe was interrogated and her student statement was prepared without her parents being notified, without her parents’ permission, and without her parents being present,†the suit states.
Doe was the victim of other bullying because of her social awkwardness caused by various mental illnesses, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, anxiety, depression and Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, according to the suit. Bullying that did not involve the sexually violent boy was reported to Doe’s parents and discussed with them, the suit said.
On May 25, the Missouri Commission of Human Rights issued Doe a notice of right to sue.
Nearly 10 current and former Wentzville School District and employees, including former Superintendent Danielle Tormala and interim Superintendent Brian Bishop, are named as defendants in the lawsuit and were summoned to appear in court before Judge Deborah Alessi on Tuesday.
The same judge also oversees the state attorney general’s case against the district involving alleged open records law violations. A hearing for that case is scheduled for Sept. 23.
Doe’s suit, filed Aug. 22, marks the third suit filed against Wentzville School District this year.
In March, a minor North Point High School football player sued over allegations his coach “headbutted†him during a verbal confrontation, causing nose and face injuries.
In May, the district settled with a minor student at a confidential amount after the plaintiff asserted claims related to sexual harassment, sexual abuse and discrimination he suffered by fellow students in the 2022-2023 school year. Publicly available court documents do not delve into the details.
There was no hearing scheduled for Doe’s case as of Wednesday.