Loudon County School District Sued For Ignoring Reports Of Sexual Harassment At Middle School
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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Loudon County School District is being sued for failing to act after a middle school student reported daily incidents of sexual harassment at his middle school last year.
At the beginning of December last year, the male student identified as “John Doe” attempted to take his life with a handgun while at home. “John” who was in the eighth-grade at the time was unsuccessful in his attempt as he could not fire the weapon due to the safety on it. In the lawsuit, his parents say that their son would not have been driven to such action had staff members at Fort Loudon Middle School (FLMS) taken the sexual harassment seriously and followed the county board of education’s Title IX policies.
According to the lawsuit, “Every day of eighth-grade, up to December 3rd, 2021, John endured sexual bullying by other students. In the hallway, at his locker, in the gym, and in the bathroom, that daily torment included a group of boys spanking his buttocks and making sexual comments. Occasionally, an object like a bottle or a banana was also used, with the boys suggesting that John wanted anal penetration with the bottle or banana.”
Under their Title IX and Sexual Harassment policy, FLMS is to disseminate the policy to all staff, students, parents, and guardians annually. But when faced with the allegations, staff did not follow policy guidelines, nor do John’s parents remember ever being apprised of the policy.
According to the policy, “any individual with knowledge of behavior that may constitute a violation of the policy shall immediately report such information to the Title IX Coordinator.” The Title IX Coordinator at the time was listed as Matthew Tinker.
Govsalaries.com states that Tinker worked for Loudon County School District in 2021 as a Central Office Supervisor making $98,828 a year. Tinker also served as County Commissioner for District 2, but did not win reelection to the commission earlier this year. It is unknown at this time whether Tinker was made aware of the harassment.
The night before he attempted to take his life, John broke down crying at a basketball game and told his parents about the ongoing harassment. His parents immediately informed the school’s resource officer and assistant principal. A meeting was scheduled for the following morning.
At that meeting, official procedures were ignored in favor of assigning a teacher to stay with John at the suggestion of the assistant principal. However, the same day, John was assaulted yet again, as corroborated by video footage. The SRO created a report of “Sexual Assault” and “Forcible Fondling” against John Doe.
Although the student at fault admitted to assaulting John in the presence of the Principal, the student, and other students that John named, were only given a stern warning.
According to the lawsuit, the Principal then made excuses for the students to John, saying that they did not have “good home lives.” John later heard his tormentors laughing about being called into the office for “slapping butts.” That evening, John wrote a goodbye note to his parents and went outside to try to end his life, saved only by the safety on the gun.
John’s parents moved him to a private school to finish out eighth-grade and are seeking damages up to $30,000, the statutory maximum, as well as $50,000 per parent for emotional distress.
We reported on another school district earlier this year where Title IX policies were not followed.
Lawsuits that result in legal action against school districts are ultimately paid for by taxpayers.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
How about some so-called educators being dismissed with extreme prejudice. Or maybe just give them a hearty dose, over the period of a year, they thought was harmless fun. I’m only free and not in jail because my child was not involved. Thankfully, all my children have long since left the school systems.
Tell Ryan to stop being a lil bitch
The school bears some responsibility here, but unless “John’s” parents teach him to stand up for himself, his troubles are probably far from over. The parents should enroll that kid in a good martial arts dojo.
Would you be holding the same attitude if this was a girl, and not a boy??? This isn’t teasing, this is full on sexual harassment, and basically assault. Some children are not fighters- have you ever heard of stress responses? Just because it isn’t a little girl, and is a little boy, doesn’t make it any less severe. The school, the perpetrators, and the perpetrators’ parents hold FULL responsibility. I’m about to graduate from college with my degree in elementary education, and to think about myself as an educator just sitting back and not doing anything while something like this happened makes me physically sick. It was so bad, and this poor boy felt like no one was on his side at his school and this was just going to continue, that he was ready to take his own life! This boy couldn’t be any older than 13. This is coming across as blaming the victim for being assaulted, and the parents who almost lost their child to suicide. I’d suggest thinking about your words before commenting something hurtful like this.