WELCH – The mother of a third Mount View Middle School student say their daughter was sexually assaulted earlier this school year by a boy named in two previously filed lawsuits.
The girl, identified only as Jane Doe #2, filed the complaint by her mother Ann Doe on April 14 in McDowell Circuit Court against the McDowell County Board of Education, Mrs. Hudson, Leon Gravely and student J.M. Jr., by his parents Jessie M. and Daria Z-M. Hudson is a teacher, and Gravely is an administrative employee.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was a student at Mount View Middle in the fall of 2021. She says she was subjected to bullying and harassment at school. She now lives in Mercer County.
Travis A. Griffith
| protectingwv.com
Early in the fall of 2021, another unidentified student was sexually assaulted by J.M. Jr. after being dragged into the boys’ restroom, according to the complaint.
The second unidentified student reported the incident to Deputy Lyle Noe, an officer stationed at the school after consulting with her mother via text message. Noe told Gravely, who called the girl into the office for questioning. Gravely questioned the girl without her parents present or without her parents being informed of the incident.
“Video was reviewed and displayed Jane Doe #2 exiting the boy’s bathroom with her head down texting,” the complaint states. “Gravely dismissed the allegations under the theory that if Jane Doe #2 was able to text, the situation had not occurred. …
“Gravely also mentioned that J.M. Jr. was an athlete at the school and was needed for sports.”
The incident occurred when J.M. Jr. was supposed to be in Hudson’s class.
The complaint says Noe suggested Gravely put the boy on homebound while an investigation was conducted, but the request was ignored. It also says the girl transferred out of the McDowell County school system because of the treatment she received from administration and because of ridicule she received at school.
On November 16, 2021, another girl – plaintiff Jane Doe from the first lawsuit filed earlier this year – says she was dragged into the boys’ restroom by J.M. Jr. and sexually assaulted. A third girl, Jane Doe #3, filed the second lawsuit last month.
“Jane Doe knew about the previous incident … and how she was treated and, therefore, made no report about the assault,” the complaint states.
In December 2021, the complaint says J.M. Jr. began attempted to coerce a male student whom he had previously sexually assaulted to meet him. That student informed Jane Doe of the advances.
And soon thereafter, the complaint says Jane Doe #3 – was grabbed by J.M. Jr. “by the hair in a stairwell hallways and dragged under the stairs where she was sexually assaulted.”
The girl says she fought J.M. Jr. and was able to escape momentarily, but he overtook her a second time and dragged back under the stairs.
After the third assault, the first Jane Doe went to teacher Amanda Miller to report what had been happening. Miller reported the allegations to Gravely, who then questioned Jane Doe. Like the plaintiff in the first case, Jane Doe #3 says her parents were not contacted about the allegations of the assault and were not present or notified about her questioning.
The complaint says Jane Doe #2’s parents were not about the alleged assault nor were they present or aware of the interrogation by Gravely. Her guardian was contacted at the end of the school day and told the girl already had been placed on the school bus to go home.
The complaint says footage was reviewed, and the assaults were confirmed. J.M. Jr. currently is facing juvenile criminal charges for the sexual assaults.
“I think it’s ridiculous that the officer assigned to the school was ignored,” attorney Travis Griffith told The West Virginia Record. “One sexual assault on school grounds is one too many. Based on the administration’s conduct, now three girls have been victimized. Our children deserve better.
“Upon the realization that, in this case, the child’s guardian had already been to the school on at least four occasions prior to the sexual assault, it appears clear that we have real problems in the McDowell County school system. These children were not just victims of their sexual assailant, they were victims of an administration that found it easier to look the other way.”
Griffith said he has been told Deputy Noe asked and was given a transfer way from the middle school because of the administration.
“Not a single parent of a child I represent has been granted access to view the video footage of what happened to their child,” Griffith told The Record. “But, I am willing to bet that the board’s attorneys have viewed and are in possession of the video footage.
“It astounds me that the administration would not call a guardian until after her interrogation had been concluded and placing the child on a bus to return home.”
The plaintiffs accuse the school board of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of special relationship duty, negligent supervision, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They accuse J.M. Jr. of battery, sexual assault and sexual abuse. They accuse Gravely, Johnson and the school board of negligence and gross negligence. They accuse all of the defendants of violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
They seek compensatory damages for past and future injuries sustained, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Griffith of Griffith Law Center in Charleston and by Lonnie Simmons of DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress in Charleston.
McDowell Circuit Court case number 22-C-16