The Rockwood School District and Special School District of St. County turned a “blind eye” to an employee’s sexual abuse of a student with Down syndrome and autism, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 9 in the St. Louis County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit claims both districts knew a Eureka High School employee had an inappropriate relationship with the student, which included touching the child inappropriately and discussing sexual matters with him, and the two districts did not intervene.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, a jury trial and coverage of attorneys’ fees for the student and his family.
According to the suit, Rockwood and the Special School District, which provides special education services in Rockwood, were “deliberately indifferent to the rights of the student” and allowed the abuse to continue during the 2021-2022 school year.
The suit does not specify how long the abuse occurred but says it ended when the employee’s actions were reported to law enforcement and the Department of Social Services on Feb. 11, 2022.
Spokeswomen for the Rockwood district and the Special School District said they could not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit filed this month does not name the student, but said he has Down syndrome and autism, which “substantially limits his ability to perform day-to-day activities” and impairs his ability to “communicate, self-advocate and defend himself against abuse, harassment, discrimination and violations of his person.”
The suit claims the former employee was motivated to abuse the student because of his gender and disability.
The alleged abuser was arrested and charged with sex crimes, including sexual abuse and child molestation, and the abuse occurred on at least two specific dates – Jan. 28, 2022, and. Feb. 11, 2022, according to the lawsuit.
On Feb. 11, the employee allegedly molested the student for 30 to 60 seconds in a classroom in front of teachers and staff members. An employee reported the abuse that day, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also doesn’t name the alleged abuser, but Robert Smith, a 52-year-old former Eureka High custodian, was charged Feb. 17, 2022, with first-degree sexual abuse, a class C felony punishable by three to 10 years in prison, according to court records.
Eureka Police reported the alleged victim was a boy younger than 17 and a Special School District student. The police said the school resource officer was notified about the alleged sexual assault on Feb. 11.
Rockwood did not answer a question about Smith’s possible connection to the recent lawsuit.
The lawsuit said the districts retaliated against the student and his family after the abuse was reported. It says representatives from the districts refused to meet with the family, intentionally did not tell the family the student had the right to transfer to another school and treated the family with “hostility and flippancy.”
According to the suit, Rockwood and the Special School District deprived the student of his right to a public education and violated his civil rights levied by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in school.
The suit lists numerous alleged Title IX violations, such as ignoring evidence and complaints, failing to conduct internal investigations, creating a climate that tolerated sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct and failing to develop policies regarding prompt and equitable grievance procedures.
The family filed charges of discrimination on the student’s behalf with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, which issued a right-to-sue letter.
This is the second lawsuit a Eureka High School family has filed against Rockwood in the past two months. In January, the mother of a former football player sued the district on her son’s behalf for sexual harassment and discrimination.
The lawsuit is at least the fourth filed against Rockwood and the third involving Eureka High in the past year.
In February 2023, Brittany Hogan, former Rockwood director of educational equity and diversity, sued the district for failing to address harassment and threats aimed toward her. The lawsuit was settled in November 2023 when the district agreed to pay Hogan $175,000 and cover her attorney’s fees.
In July 2023, James Daffron, a Eureka High physical education teacher, sued Rockwood and Principal Corey Sink for alleged wrongful termination of his contract as the school’s baseball coach. The district has filed a motion to dismiss the case and a hearing was scheduled after the Leader deadline, according to court records.