ROCKLAND, Maine ― Waldoboro-based Regional School Unit 40 is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former student who alleges she was sexually harassed by a Medomak Valley High School principal.
According to the lawsuit filed in December, former principal Andrew Cavanaugh sent the female student sexually suggestive text messages, bought her a car and repeatedly asked her to move in with him.
Cavanaugh, who resigned in December 2017, denies the claims.
The school district, Medomak Valley High School and Chuck Nguyen, a social worker at the high school, were also named in the lawsuit.
An attorney for the school district is asking that the lawsuit against the district and Medomak Valley High School be dismissed, because no one with the authority to act on the allegations — aside from Cavanaugh — knew of the alleged sexual harassment until the fall of 2017, when he was put on administrative leave prior to his resignation.
In her lawsuit, the woman claims that she told Nguyen about Cavanaugh’s behavior towards her but he assured her that Cavanaugh’s actions were not inappropriate and that he was trying to be a “father figure.” Social workers are required to report allegations of abuse to authorities.
In a response filed by his attorney, Nguyen denies that the student told him about Cavanaugh’s allegedly inappropriate behavior.
The school district is claiming that even if Nguyen had knowledge of Cavanaugh’s actions towards the student, it is irrelevant because “he did not have the authority to address the alleged discrimination or to institute corrective action,” according to the motion to dismiss.
The woman, who is now 19, has since been diagnosed with adjustment disorder, social anxiety and worsened depression “as a direct result of the emotionally traumatic relationship with [Cavanaugh],” according to the lawsuit.