Photo by Shelley Hanson A woman holds a sign stating “Zero tolerance does not equal ‘these things happen’” during a recent protest outside of St. Clairsville High School regarding the alleged assault of fifth grade girl.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A lawsuit filed in Belmont County Common Pleas Court alleges the St. Clairsville-Richland City School District has been negligent in failing to protect fourth and fifth grade students from sexually assaulting each other.

School district attorney Al Davies denied the allegations and called the lawsuit a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The suit was filed Oct. 20 by lawyer Mark A. Kepple of Wheeling on behalf of the St. Clairsville mother whose daughter allegedly was assaulted during an Oct. 13 football game. Belmont County Prosecutor Dan Fry said a charge of simple assault is being levied against the accused fifth grade student; the child is not being charged with sexual assault.

The mother of the alleged victim said that during the course of the Oct. 13 football game, her daughter was knocked down, held on the ground and then let up off the ground.

At that point, she said, another fifth grade girl pulled down her daughter’s pants and underwear, exposing her to a group of fifth-graders.

Fry said the case now is in the hands of the Belmont County Juvenile Court system. The school district already imposed a five-day in-school suspension against the alleged perpetrator.

In addition to the school district, the suit also names Superintendent Walt Skaggs, the board of education and St. Clairsville Elementary School as defendants.

“The board of education and Skaggs have failed miserably to address and eliminate a culture of sexualization of children at the St. Clairsville school system. … Parents are afraid to come forward as they know their children will be retaliated against, that victims will be blamed, and that steps will be taken to sweep the problems under the rug …” the suit states.

“The defendants were negligent in failing to prevent and failing to take reasonable action to prevent fourth and fifth grade students and possibly others from sexually assaulting one another, engaging in sexual touching, sexual bullying, forming clubs to engage in sexual exploitation of one another, and otherwise permitting a culture condoning such behavior.

“The plaintiffs were subject to sexual assault and sexual bullying from fellow students, were permitted to engage in sexual touching, were permitted to form in school clubs with other students to engage in sexual exploitation … were allowed to be subject to peer encouragement to engage in sexual activity typically reserved for those of a more mature age, and were otherwise supervised in a grossly inadequate and egregious way.”

The suit also alleges the school district’s policies are inadequate to protect children from such activity.

“The school was negligent in its failure to provide trauma-informed care to students, failure to have an appropriate abuse prevention and crisis management plan, and failure to properly train or supervise teachers and guidance counselors to respond, recognize and intercede where necessary to address a situation involving sexual abuse and children,” the suit alleges.

The suit notes the plaintiffs are seeking damages and claim for relief. The suit asks for injunctive relief to “prevent further operation of the district until steps are taken to develop a plan for a full scale investigation of St. Clairsville Schools, its policies, its training program, the existence of other victims, treatment of victims, and all facets of the schools protocol for investigating, managing and assisting victims of sexual abuse at school and school functions.”

It seeks for an investigation to be conducted by a third-party from outside the local area.

Davies said he expects the suit to eventually be dismissed.

“This case is a waste of valuable taxpayer resources and at the appropriate time action will be taken to have the case thrown out of court. The St. Clairsville-Richland City School District, like many of the school districts in the Ohio Valley, has an abundance of experienced, intelligent and dedicated individuals who manage and operate the school district and they do it very well,” Davies said.

“The Board of Education, the Administrators, the teachers and all other employees of the school district are very concerned about the health, safety and educational welfare of the students and the school district and all of the individuals who proudly serve the district and its students will be vigorously and aggressively defended in this lawsuit,” he continued. “Further, comments and written statements that are being made on social media are being reviewed for potential defamation of character lawsuits and individuals who continue to make false and defamatory statements risk the possibility of being sued for libel and/or slander.

“The St. Clairsville-Richland City School District is operated in accordance with and in full observance to all relevant laws of the State of Ohio,” Davies added. “The school district has policies and protocols in place to address bullying, sexual matters and other issues that, unfortunately, in today’s society school districts have to address. In school programs, assemblies and special events are held for staff and students. In fact, on many of these issues, the school district goes beyond what the law requires.”