Lawsuit filed against north-central B.C. school district over alleged sexual assault

A civil liability claim was filed in Vancouver on Feb. 26 against the School District 91 (Nechako Lakes) board of education, alleging they failed to dismiss a teacher for sexually assaulting a student around 1979 and 1980 in Vanderhoof, west of Prince George.

The claim, filed by the former student, alleges they were assaulted, and alleges the school district failed to investigate the teachers' background, denied the incident or were wilfully blind to it, and failed investigate the teacher's activities to find and assist any victims. 

The student, now an adult, claims they suffer from PTSD from the incident, in addition to sexual dysfunction, insomnia, mistrust of authority figures, anxiety, depression, shame, guilt, low self-esteem, and impairment of 'the opportunity to experience a normal childhood', according to the civil claim. 

"The injuries have caused and continue to cause the plaintiff pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability, loss of physical, mental, and emotional health, loss of earnings, past and prospective, loss of competitive advantage, loss of income earning capacity, loss of interdependency, and a shorted working life," it notes further. 

The claim says the student will be seeking financial relief for sustained damages and losses for ongoing lifetime medical treatment, with expense details to be delivered at trial.