Maryland School System Sued Following Teacher's Conviction

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SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The conviction of a Maryland teacher on child sex abuse charges has led to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against a county board of education.

Local news outlets report the lawsuit was announced Thursday by attorney Jeff Herman. It says Montgomery County schools "failed miserably at protecting its students" from 50-year-old John Vigna. The former Cloverly Elementary School teacher was convicted on nine counts of sexual abuse in June and was sentenced to 48 years in prison last week.

Herman says he filed the Title IX lawsuit on behalf of one of the victims, who is now 12 years old. Herman says he'll go after decades of school records, which he says will reveal administrators were aware Vigna was a problem.

The school system said it wouldn't comment on the pending case.

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