NEW CUMBERLAND – A woman groomed and sexually abused a dozen years ago when she was a middle school student by a teacher has sued the man, the county board of education and a school administrator.
The plaintiff, identified only has E.H., filed her complaint in Hancock Circuit Court against the Hancock County Board of Education, David Smith and Ronald Paul Harris. The plaintiff’s parents, identified only as A.S. and S.S., also are plaintiffs in the case.
Harris, who is 63, is serving a 10- to 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty last year to one count of sexual abuse by a person in a position of trust. He admitted to molesting the girl.
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At the time, Smith was an assistant principal at Oak Glen Middle School where the abuse took place. He now is principal at Oak Glen High School.
Attorney Mary Pat Statler said she and co-counsel Zachary Stewart believe the school system failed their client.
I’m a parent. I have a young daughter,” Statler, with Bailey & Glasser in Charleston, told The West Virginia Record. “While it’s our job to take personal feelings out of cases as much as possible, in this case we were shocked and saddened. But, it also helps us in that we’re motivated to help our client and to prevent this from happening again to someone.”
Stewart, who is with Carey & Stewart in Weirton, agreed.
“We always advocate for our clients, but it does drive the motivation in this type of case,” he told The Record. “It’s difficult to wrap your head around what this young lady experienced when she was a teenager. We appreciate her trust in us with this case.
“Obviously, what happened to her is horrible. But there was failure by the school system and others who failed to protect her.”
According to the complaint, E.H. is now a 27-year-old female. She says Harris began his actions against her at Oak Glen Middle when she was a 13-year-old eighth grader. He was 50 years old at the time. He taught West Virginia history, was in charge of the school’s broadcasting department and was the girls’ basketball team coach.
“Harris immediately began ‘befriending’ or ‘grooming’ E.H. to gin her trust, and he began to communicate with her as if he were a peer or friend rather than a young student’s teacher,” the complaint states.
She says Harris provided his personal cell number and asked for hers, and he then began communicating inappropriately with her via text message on a regular basis. The complaint says he had similar communication with other students.
The complaint says school board employees witnessed Harris masturbating at least twice on school grounds: once in his classroom after school and once in the restroom during basketball practice. But no disciplinary action was taken again him for that.
During E.H.’s freshman year of high school, she says Harris arranged for and encouraged her to become his student aide so she would leave high school to help Harris grade papers and organize his classroom.
It was then that E.H. says Harris escalated his abuse of her. He also began to express his romantic love and sexual feelings for the then-14-year-old.
“Harris discussed his desire to kiss and fondle E.H., and informed her that he would save money for an ‘elopement’ marriage when E.H. turned 18 years old,” the complaint states. “Harris would take E.H. into the storage closet of the media room, which was connected to his regular classroom by an interior door, and request that E.H. remove her shirt and proceed to remove his own shirt.
“Defendant Harris would remove E.H.’s bra and intensely hug her and suck on her breasts. Defendant Harris would then masturbate in front of and on E.H. Defendants Harris put his hand in E.H.’s pants and underwear and molested her by touching and penetrating her vagina.”
E.H. says the “horrific sexual abuse” happened at least 10 times.
She also says Smith and other board employees were “acutely aware” of her visits to the middle school and the time she spent with Harris in his classroom.
“Smith’s job responsibilities included him ‘doing rounds’ at OGMS after normal school hours ended to ensure all students were safe and there were no issues regarding staff,” the complaint states. “On at least one occasion, defendant Smith attempted to gain access to defendant Harris’ classroom when he was sexually abusing E.H., but when he found the door to be locked, he simply ceased trying and began walking away down the hall.
“As defendants Smith was walking away … Harris abruptly emerged into the hallway with E.H. and nervously called for defendant Smith.”
The complaint says Smith turned around and approached Harris and E.H. for a brief conversation.
“Harris was profusely sweating, visibly and audibly nervous and outwardly anxious, yet defendant Smith did not address either the locked door situation – while E.H. was clearly in defendant Harris’ classroom with him – or defendant Harris’ extremely odd, guilty behavior.”
E.H. says it also was common knowledge among school staff and students that Harris kept a “Top 10 List” of the most attractive female middle school students and that Harris already had married a former middle school student of his.
“The Board knew or should have known of the overt, egregious, sexually charged culture that existed within Hancock County Schools,” the complaint states. “Other Board employees contributed to this horrific culture/environment.”
The complaint says one male employee called E.H. a sexually provocative nickname beginning when she was 13, and another routinely joked that pregnant students were carrying his baby and often requested female students to sit on his lap during class. Another male employee used the classroom to talk about sexual preferences and proclivities with his young students.
E.H. says the misconduct of the defendants kept her from having a normal adolescence and school experience. She says she felt isolated, ashamed and constantly anxious and worried. She says classmates rejected her, adding she entered a romantic relationship with a classmate to appear normal.
She also says her relationship with her younger sister and her parents were negatively impacted and caused her to isolate in her bedroom, avoiding social activities. She says she lost her best friend and rarely visits her hometown and her parents’ home because it is “emotionally overwhelming.”
E.H. says she has required frequent intensive therapy for several years and will do so for the rest of her life.
Both attorneys praised the plaintiff for coming forward.
“Everyone has their own time and their own way of doing things,” Statler told The Record. “She’s a tough young woman, but certainly this has shaped her entire life. She went through a trauma no child should ever go through. She struggles daily.
“What our client endured, continues to endure and will endure for the rest of her life, it’s shocking. It should never have happened and should never happen again.
“But, we’re proud of our client for her courage. To the extent that she can help even one more person, that would be importance to her. For now, we have our one client and one lawsuit. Part of our client’s hope is that, if there are other victims, this will give them courage to come forward.”
Stewart agreed.
“Part of what we want to know is who else could have prevented this,” he told The Record. “And there may be other victims or witnesses of Mr. Harris, so we are asking for the assistance of everyone to help bring justice to light.”
E.H. and her parents accuse the board and Smith of negligent supervision, negligent retention, negligent training and of violating state code that requires school personnel to alert authorities of suspected child abuse. They accuse Harris of assault and battery, sexual assault, sexual abuse and intentional infliction of emotional distress. And they accuse all defendants of violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act and loss of filial consortium.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages as well as attorney fees and court costs. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Ronald E. Wilson.
Hancock Circuit Court case number 23-C-18
