Student sexually abused by teacher accuses district of negligence
A former Jeannette, Pa, High School student who repeatedly was sexually assaulted by a teacher, usually in the teacher’s classroom, has sued the school district in federal court on claims that administrators didn’t do enough to protect him from her. In a complaint filed Monday against the Jeannette City School District, the victim and his lawyers say that district authorities suspected teacher Maria Chappell was abusing the boy, then 16, but didn’t act immediately to stop it.
Chappell was arrested in 2016 and pleaded guilty in 2018 to institutional sexual assault. Between January and March 2016,
she sexually assaulted him about 50 times, according to the suit —
sometimes in her car, her parents’ house or a motel, but mostly in her classroom
where she also taught a class called "ethically speaking". To keep from getting caught, Chappell covered the windows. According to the suit, the district knew she was covering the windows and told her to uncover them. Chappell ignored those orders.
The principal, Patricia Rozycki, became suspicious. Reports also came in from other students about Chappell’s behavior. Ms. Rozycki began spying on Chappell, but she didn’t immediately report her suspicions to anyone, allowing the abuse to continue, the suit says.
The failure to report is a violation of the state’s Child Protective Services Law, according to the complaint. “The district did not appropriately respond” to the red flags concerning Chappell, the suit says.
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2022/01/24/jeannette-student-sues-city-school-district-sexual-abuse-assault-case-maria-chappell/stories/202201240072
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