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Walton Verona Being Sued By Parents of 13 Year Old Girl

Clyde

By Clyde
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theguru

theguru

Posted
Posted

Wow!

 

Speaking in general terms, sooner or later schools will realize their arrogance/we know better attitude in criminal matters is the wrong way to handle things. I have seen it several times over the years where something happens and the school system either covers it up or puts a heavy coating of sugar on the situation.

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theguru

theguru

Posted
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I agree SSC, the original article is missing. I normally wouldn't do this but with the original article being gone my confidence in the Enquirer is a little shaken so I am going to post the full article here on BGP. With that said, I strongly encourage you to read the Enquirer.

 

Suit: School didn't protect girl from harassment

 

COVINGTON - The family of a 13-year-old girl claims in a lawsuit that the Walton-Verona Independent School District didn't protect their daughter from unwanted sexual advances of an 18-year-old high school senior and athletic standout.

 

"Instead of acting to protect a minor 13-year-old girl student, the school was more concerned about a star player on the basketball team," said the family's attorney, Rick Brueggemann. He added that federal law clearly states schools have a legal obligation to protect students from peer-on-peer sexual harassment.

 

The parents of the girl filed the suit Tuesday in federal court in Covington. The 18-year-old, Vance Sullivan, is named as a defendant in addition to his father, Dan Sullivan, the vice-principal of the Walton-Verona High School.

 

The other defendants are the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, Walton-Verona's board of education, Superintendent Bill Boyle, High School Principal Mark Krummen, Athletic Director Kyle Bennett, and Dan Trame, a coach for the district.

 

The school district's attorney, Suzanne Cassidy, declined Friday to comment on the suit because she had not yet met with her client to discuss the allegations. The state athletic association also declined comment, and the Sullivans couldn't be reached for comment.

 

The suit alleges the sexual advances began last year when Vance Sullivan began sending sexually harassing text messages to the 13-year-old girl. She played on one of the district's girls basketball teams while he was on the high school varsity basketball and baseball teams.

 

Events escalated before a school-sponsored sporting event when the 13-year-old claims Vance Sullivan lured her to a car where he locked the doors and forcibly groped her, according to the suit. The following day, the girl alleges in the suit that Vance Sullivan threatened and stalked her in an attempt to keep her from telling.

 

The girl told a teacher nine days later about what happened in the car, according to the suit, but the school waited four additional days to tell the girl's parents. The suit claims a Boone County Sheriff's Department investigation was then compromised when school officials tipped Vance Sullivan to their inquiry.

 

Despite that, the 18-year-old was charged in December with second-degree sexual abuse. While his criminal case was pending, the 18-year-old was allowed to continue to attend school, according to the suit. Vance Sullivan was even allowed to travel to Orlando, Fla, to play in a high school sporting tournament.

 

He pleaded guilty in February to the reduce charge of harassment with no physical contact. The sentence was 90 days behind bars but Vance Sullivan will not have to serve it if he complies with certain provisions, including not attending Walton-Verona school activities and having no contact with the girl.

 

He transferred to another high school after the guilty plea. The suit alleges that Walton-Verona officials lied to high school athletic officials about the reason for the move to make sure he remained eligible to play high school sports.

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2 Humped Camel

2 Humped Camel

Posted
Posted

Good old Dan "you can't play any sport besides basketball" Sullivan.... If this is true he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and everyone at WV should resign. How could parents send their children there, especially girls if they are subjected to this type of behavior with no punishment?

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SportsGuy41017

SportsGuy41017

Posted
Posted

Sad situation! Maybe the Enquire was asked or threaten to take it down? If all the facts were not public at the time maybe they thought the best thing to do was take it down to avoid trouble for the paper?

 

The first thing I will say is I HATE these kinds of lawsuits! Name everyone and hope you get something? Why is the KHSAA named? How did they "not protect the girl?"

 

The girl waited 9 days and told a teacher and not her parents? The school "tipped" him off about the inquiry? How is that compromising this issue? Shouldn't the sheriff's department have a say in if anything was compromised? I mean come on, supposedly she tells the school about this, I am sure very soon after the school or his dad questioned him, why wouldn't they do so?

 

Now I usually will say charges are not convictions! IF someone has something out for a student all they have to do is make accusations and ruin the kid! At least make him sit until it is found out the charges were false. If the girl was not in any danger and the school was then taking a wait and see approach, I could see them letting him play.

 

Now, since the girl was not named I will say I heard from very reliable sources that it did not all go down like she said, she was willing to do it and she bragged about it to others! Are most girls that age going to tell their parents they are sexually active? No! They will try and get out of trouble and blame the male! Why do parents want to hide the fact, even to themselves, that their "little girl" is sexually active? I go back to the 9 days thing, shouldn't the parents be upset at her instead for not only waiting that long to tell someone, but to tell the school first and not even tell them? That the school had to tell the parents?

 

After he transferred schools, didn't this girl and family get a lot of backlash that then created a situation that her parents had to send her to a new school as well? What about the website the parents created about this? Why did they take that down? I guess it was in a "deal"?

 

I was also told that other schools knew about it, how did the KHSAA miss it then?

 

Having said all that, I am not saying he did the right thing, even at 18 you are still at an age where you are not thinking right, and being a guy something else is doing the thinking for you!

 

How do you go from sexual abuse to a reduced charge of "harassment and he didn't even touch her"?

 

I don't care who someone is or what they are charged with or their reputation, not that I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but I have a brain, I'll use it to form my own opinion of someone no matter who they are or what I am told about the person! As I always say "your reputation is only what others think of you, your CHARACTER is what you really are! I will also say that at times there is lack of character as well!

 

You can't just live with support of family and so-called friends, as those you think of friends see the character flaw, and are also talking about you behind your back! You need support of anyone who is willing to give it!

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SportsGuy41017

SportsGuy41017

Posted
Posted
No, you did not, but you said; "They will try and get out of trouble and blame the male!
Yes I did, and that is true at times. A girl wants some type of sex with a guy of any age, and she gets caught, then blames the boy so her parents won't punish her. Regardless if she wanted to have sex or not, doing something to the 18+ is not going to solve the parents problem, they have a girl who is sexually active, and willing! Do parents actually think it's the first time their girl had some type of sex?
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