Former Texas student sues teacher, school district over affair
DALLAS - A former science teacher and a Texas school district are being sued by an ex-student alleging physical and emotional damage caused by a sexual relationship he had with the teacher, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Going under the pseudonym Mark Smith to protect his privacy, the former student filed a civil lawsuit last Friday alleging that he and forensic science teacher Rachelle Heenan repeatedly engaged in sexual encounters two years ago and that Heenan took advantage of the then 17-year-old's immature and underdeveloped mental state, according to the paper.
The Star-Telegram reports that Smith is also suing Eagle Mountain-Saginaw School District because it allegedly "failed to provide proper supervision, failed to act to warn or otherwise protect young victims and failed to secure the school premises from the sexual assaults that occurred on school premises and at school sponsored events and activities," the lawsuit states.
The Star-Telegram reports that Heenan, then 34, was put on administrative leave in May 2012 and indicted on a charge of an improper relationship between an educator and student in February 2013. The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office reportedly said she took a plea bargain in exchange for five years of deferred adjudicated probation and relinquishing her teaching certificate.
Smith's attorney, Bobbie Edmonds, told the paper that his client's relationship with Heenan was mentally and emotionally damaging to the extent that it delayed the boy's plans to join the Marine Corps.
The Star-Telegram reported that Heenan did not return their calls about the suit.
Court documents reportedly detail the relationship between Smith and Heenan, which began when he was a senior at Hollenstein Career and Technology Center preparing for a career as a diesel mechanic in the Marine Corps. According to the paper, Smith was going to join the military a day after graduation in June 2012.
The Star-Telegram reports that court documents show that Heenan and Smith met in February 2012, when Smith took Heenan's forensic science class. They soon began "sexting" and eventually Smith met Heenan in a private gym parking lot and the two checked into a hotel to have sex.Edmonds reportedly said Heenan "assaulted, raped and battered [Smith] in her capacity of teacher/educator, in violation of the law," according to court documents. He said she took advantage of his self-confidence, immaturity and dependency issues.
The suit also seeks compensation for Smith's damage of over $24,000 in school district property, which Edmonds said he did as a result of the emotional trauma he suffered.