PAXTON, Ill. (WAND) - A lawsuit has been filed in Ford County Circuit Court alleging that a teacher and former coach from the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district inappropriately touched several female students over a span of more than ten years.
The complaint claims that school administrators repeatedly dismissed the students' reports of abuse and failed to notify the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), despite being required to do so.
The 14-count civil lawsuit was filed on Friday, June 6, by civil rights attorney Bhavani Raveendran on behalf of three plaintiffs: a former student, a parent of a former student, and a parent of a current student. The lawsuit seeks over $50,000 in damages for each count.
"The plaintiffs and their families are moving forward to ensure that future students are safe and that reports of harassment, inappropriate behavior, and touching are taken seriously and investigated by the school district responsible for the safety of its students," said a statement released by Raveendran. "They are taking whatever steps they can to protect the community that they love. We are asking anyone with information that may be helpful to reach out or inform local authorities."
The lawsuit alleges that school administrators were informed on multiple occasions about inappropriate conduct by a former coach and teacher at Clara Peterson Elementary School, CUSD 10 Junior High, and CUSD 10 Senior High. This behavior, which included grooming and inappropriate touching of students, reportedly began shortly after the individual was hired in 2008 as a social studies teacher and assistant coach for junior high cross country.
Despite these reports, the administrators allegedly dismissed the concerns and failed to follow the school district's policies by not notifying DCFS.
It wasn't until January of this year that one of the alleged victims disclosed her experiences with the coach to a therapist, who then reached out to DCFS. This led to an investigation by the Illinois State Police. However, the lawsuit claims that school administrators did not take immediate action to discipline the coach, who remained on the job until he was finally suspended months later.
In 2013, students reported unsettling interactions with the coach, and more allegations regarding inappropriate touching and behavior surfaced in subsequent years. Despite complaints from teachers and staff, no reports were made to DCFS regarding these incidents.
According to the lawsuit, the coach had previously faced a brief suspension in 2015 for inappropriate comments, but that was his only disciplinary action for misconduct during the time in question.
At a school board meeting on Wednesday, the board voted to accept the resignation of superintendent Travis Duley effective the end of this month. The board did not discuss the lawsuit during open session.
WAND reached out to the district for comment, but none was given. WAND also reached out to the teacher named in the lawsuit, but he hung up.
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