Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Mediation date set in District 308 sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Oswego High School students

Transcript

Mediation date set in District 308 sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Oswego High School students · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Mediation date set in District three hundred and eight sexual
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: harassment lawsuit filed by former Aswego High School students. Written
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: by Eric Schlkoff, This article is being read by an
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: automated voice brought to you by Everlett. A mediation session
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: is set for next month regarding a lawsuit that four
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: former Oswego High School students filed in February against Oswego
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: School District three hundred and eight and a former District
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: three hundred and eight teacher and coach. Named in the
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: lawsuit are Sean Staffeldt and the District three hundred and
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: eight Board of Education. The lawsuit alleges years of grooming,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct by Staffeldt. According to court records,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: the all day mediation session will take place on September
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: twenty first, and will be in person at the mediator's office.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: A retired judge will serve as mediator through ADR System,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: a Chicago based mediation service. The ninety page lawsuit, which
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: seeks damages of more than fifty thousand dollars, was filed
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: by Chicago based Disparty Law Group on behalf of the
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: former students. According to the complaint, the district received warnings
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: and complaints dating back years about Staffold's behavior, including reports
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: from staff members and a written warning issued in twenty
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: seventeen directing him to maintain professionalism and prohibiting him from
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: allegedly hugging and touching students. The lawsuit alleges the district
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: failed to take meaningful action to protect students. Staffelt resigned
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: from the district in July twenty twenty after the district
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: initiated an investigation into his alleged behavior. These four brave
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: young women endured years of grooming, sexual harassment, sexual abuse,
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: and manipulation by their former Oswego High School teacher and coach.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Sean Staffeld Cass Casper of Disparty Law Group said at
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: a news conference announced the filing of the lawsuit. This
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: case is about holding both Staffold and Oswego's School District
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: three hundred and eight accountable for a pattern of predatory
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: conduct that the district knew about but failed to stop.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Attempts by Shaw Local late Wednesday afternoon to get comment
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: from District three hundred and eight were unsuccessful. Staffold was
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: a physical education teacher and a football, wrestling, and track
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: coach at Oswego High School for about twelve years. The
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: lawsuit alleges that after he resigned, District three hundred and
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: eight failed to enforce a not trespassing order banning him
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: from school grounds. The district repeatedly failed to enforce this order,
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: allowing Staffold to violate it with impunity in twenty twenty
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: four and twenty twenty five and creating the potential for
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: more victims. According to the lawsuit, in September twenty twenty five,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: after Staffold's repeated infractions and presents on school grounds, multiple
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: victims public disclosed their abuse on social media, which itself
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: triggered dozens of additional victims to come forward. According to
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: the lawsuit, This is the second time in two years
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: the district has faced such a lawsuit. In June twenty
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: twenty four, the district and the Oswego School Board reached
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: a nine hundred and thirteen thousand, five hundred dollars settlement
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: agreement with a former Oswego East High School student who
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: alleged in a federal lawsuit that she was sexually abused
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: by a former Oswego East teacher. That former student also
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: had been represented by disparty law group