Lawsuit claims Huron City Schools failed to protect female students

Huron, OH – A federal lawsuit claims that the Huron City School District and its leaders failed to protect several young female students from sexual harassment and instead protected the male harasser.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Western Division by two Huron residents on behalf of their daughter. It was filed against the Huron City School District; Huron Board of Education members Paul Ward, Jody Mast, Donna Green, John P. Jones, and Scott Slocum; Huron City Schools superintendent Dennis Muratori; McCormick Junior High School principal Chad Carter; and Huron Police Detective and Junior High Wrestling Coach Matt Jacobs.

According to the complaint, in March 2019, the plaintiffs’ daughter, a student at McCormick Middle School, encountered a male student in the girls locker room during gym class.  He pushed her against the lockers and put his hands down her pants in an attempt to touch her genitals. He was able to get his hands in between her pants and underwear before she kneed him and ran out of the locker room.

Around the same time, the same male student sent the female student and several other of her female classmates photos and videos of his genitalia.  One video was of him masturbating and telling her that he was thinking of her. The female student told him to stop.

When the plaintiffs became aware of what was happening, they contacted the male student’s mother and set up a meeting. The male student admitted to sending the pictures and videos and apologized. The day after, the plaintiffs’ daughter came home from school upset because the male student was harassed her and said, “[y]ou know you wanted these.”

Another family whose daughter was also receiving inappropriate pictures from the male student talked to Jacobs. Jacobs recommended that they should delete any pictures/videos that the male student sent their daughter and to inform the plaintiffs to do the same. Jacobs said that both families could all be charged with child pornography if the pictures or items were discovered or reported before the families filed a report.

The plaintiffs also met with Jacobs. Jacobs said he knew the male student, since he was his wrestling coach. He also said that he was not surprised that he was doing this, and that he told the wrestling team not to send these pictures, but he said they kept doing it because that is how kids “date” nowadays. The plaintiffs also left their daughter’s phone with Jacobs so he could download the inappropriate pictures and videos with the intent that it would be used as evidence. Their daughter was also interviewed by Jacobs the day after.

The day after the interview, Jacobs told the plaintiff he would expect the school to suspend him for ten days. However, only a five-day suspension was given. Jacobs also returned the phone. He said there was nothing incriminating on the phone. When the plaintiffs checked the phone, they found that the photos and videos were deleted.

After the male student returned, he was seated next to the plaintiffs’ daughter in several classes. The boy continued to harass her. When her parents contacted Carter he said, this is “just how kids are.” The parents also met with Muratori who said that there was nothing that could be done because no one witnessed the harassment. However, there were witnesses to the in-class harassment and the boy admitted to most of the misconduct in front of five witnesses.

Several months later, the female student told the plaintiff about the locker room assault. She called the Erie County Prosecutor’s office. The plaintiffs met with Prosecutor Cheryl Goodrum. Goodrum said that Jacobs never sent pictures and videos from the phone to the Erie County Prosecutor’s office.

The male student was later interviewed by Jacobs. He claimed that the plaintiffs’ daughter was only exposed to his genitalia because another student “de-pantsed” him. Two female students also reported that they overheard Jacobs tell the boy, “it’s ok buddy….we got this.”

The male student was arrested. He was charged with two counts of pandering and two counts of public indecency. He pleaded guilty to one count of pandering and was released on house arrest with an ankle monitor. The terms of his’s house arrest was that he was only to leave home to attend mandatory school activities.

The same evening, the boy was spotted at football practice, which is a violation of his house arrest. A few weeks later, the Huron City School Board held an executive meeting and adjusted mandatory football practices to begin immediately.

The plaintiffs’ daughter later admitted to harming herself. She was diagnosed with PTSD and major depressive disorder as a direct and proximate result of the harassment and school environment. She now attends a private school. Another female student also admitted to harming herself. Several of the female students now also attend other schools.

This lawsuit is a Title IX lawsuit. Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a federal law that states: “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

A full copy of the lawsuit is below. The plaintiffs are being represented by Leslie Murray Law.