A Monongalia County mother sued the county Board of Education and others on behalf of her minor son, alleging that despite knowledge of abuse toward him nothing was done — resulting in his rape.
It’s also alleged that rape was not reported by a teacher who was told about for more than a year.
While the names of those involved are public record, to protect the identity of the minors involved, The Dominion Post is not publishing the name of the plaintiff’s mother, nor the names of the alleged rapist’s parents, both of whom are named as defendants in the suit.
The Morgantown Theatre Company, its then-Executive Director Hillary Phillips and Lauren Tosh, a teacher at Morgantown High School, are also named as defendants in the suit.
The suit alleges the plaintiff’s sexuality is a motivating factor in the decision to sweep the incidents under the rug.
Despite being told about physical and verbal abuse toward the plaintiff in February 2017, including at least one incident in which the accused teen made a romantic or sexual advance toward the plaintiff at a sleepover, Phillips did not take any meaningful steps to prevent further assaults and instead “continuously and regularly exposed” him to his assailant, according to the suit.
In May 2017, the plaintiff teen was raped by the accused in a Morgantown Theatre Company dressing room during play practice, the suit said.
Before that incident, the plaintiff submitted a document to the principal of Suncrest Middle School, Dawna Hicks, warning her of homophobic verbal abuse toward him by the same child who would go on to rape him, the suit states.
Hicks contacted the students and their parents about bullying and specifically bullying homosexuals, but failed to take “reasonable preventative measures” to protect the plaintiff from his eventual rapist, according to the suit.
In December 2017, the plaintiff told his choir teacher, Tosh, the accused assaulted him more than once, raped him and was “outing” him as a homosexual. Tosh never reported the rape, despite being required to by West Virginia law, the suit said.
The suit alleges Tosh and the defendant’s parents have a friendship outside of school activities and that relationship factored into her failure to report the rape. The defendant parents are also friends with the Phillips family, the suit said.
Because the rape was never reported, the plaintiff experienced “great pain and trauma” on a near-daily basis because he was forced to interact with his attacker at school and activities, according to the suit. That constant interaction resulted in the physical manifestation of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, resulting in the teen seeing a neurologist.
The victim told his mother about the rape in November 2018. That same day, he was hospitalized because of “suicidal ideations and intent,” the suit said.
Later that day, Tosh sent the plaintiff’s mother a text, admitting she knew about the rape and other assaults and decided not to report the incidents because she didn’t want to betray the boy’s trust, according to the suit.
The plaintiff’s mother alerted the board of education, specifically Joshua Underdonk and Superintendent Eddie Campbell, of the assaults and rape and Tosh’s failure to report them, the suit said.
Despite knowing about the rape and a teacher’s decision to not report it, the alleged rapist is still a student at Morgantown High School and has faced no consequences, the suit said. Tosh is also still a teacher at MHS, “where she remains a threat to other students who may report sexual and/or other misconduct.”
Adam Henkins, the board of education’s Title IX director, told the plaintiff’s mother Tosh admitted she failed to report the rape and assaults.
The suit asks for compensatory damages of the victim’s injuries, as alleged, including past, present and future pain and suffering, mental anguish, lost of enjoyment of life, humiliation, economic damages, attorney’s fees nd costs and other relief for which he is entitled. No specific amount is noted.
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