High Court Says No to Dismissing Panel from Suit

Saturday, March 15, 2008
By BOB LOWRY
Times Staff Writer bob.lowry@htimes.com
The Huntsville Times

Madison County Ed Board must face rape case

MONTGOMERY - The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday refused to dismiss the Madison County Board of Education as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by girl who claimed she was raped in 2002, when she was 11 years old, by her physical education teacher.

However, the high court did dismiss the board's personnel director, Jim Nash, as a defendant.

The Board of Education and Nash had claimed immunity under state agency immunity, the 11th Amendment to the Constitution and qualified immunity.

But in overturning a ruling from Madison County Circuit Judge Karen Hall, the Supreme Court said the Board of Education could not be considered an arm of the state, and was not entitled to constitutional protection.

In Nash's case, the tribunal said his actions were "at most negligent and ... he is entitled to qualified immunity."

The case revolved around a suit filed in 2005 by a Madison County family against a former coach and teacher and Madison County school officials. They alleged the teacher, William Ford Reaves, raped their daughter, a special education student at Madison County Elementary School.

The lawsuit says school officials knew about Reaves' background of inappropriate behavior toward young girls but failed to protect them. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages to be determined by a jury.

The incident didn't come to light until May 2004 when the girl, at the urging of her girlfriends, notified a counselor at Riverton Middle School.

"It appears that over a period of 16 years before they became aware of this allegation, school and/or board officials had investigated various allegations of inappropriate conduct by Reaves on five occasions and had placed written reports in Reaves' file," the Supreme Court said.

Reaves, who was 52 at the time, was reprimanded in some form in response to each allegation, but on the advise of the board's lawyer it was decided there was insufficient evidence to fire
Reaves, who was a tenured teacher, the court said.

The court said Reaves retired before a decision was made to fire him and criminal charges against him were dropped.

Reaves, who had been employed by the county school system since 1983, was a coach at Madison County Elementary School during the 2002-03 school year.