Michael Phillips has filed a Massachusetts child sex abuse lawsuit against the city of Waltham. The 20-year-old says that school officials neglect to look into complaints accusing Robert Dacey of child molestation. This alleged negligence allowed the coach and teacher to abuse more kids.
Dacey would later be charged with 17 criminal counts of child molestation. However, he passed away in 2007 before the case against him could go to trial. Dacey was 49.
Phillips says that Dacey abused him and another friend three times by dressing as a woman and then giving them blindfolded massages. In his Waltham wrongful death lawsuit, Phillips, who was in the 8th grade at the time, accuses Dacey of sexually assaulting him.
He contends that a few years before the alleged molestations, students had already come forward to complain to the principal about Dacey and his sexual misconduct, but that school officials didn’t do anything. Former-Waltham High School principal John Graceffa is also a defendant in Phllipp’s Massachusetts sexual assault lawsuit for allegedly failing to act at the time. The city is a defendant because it gets federal funding through its school department and per Title IX regulations, has to prevent sexual discrimination (and sexual assault).
Suing a School for Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse
Schools are responsible for adequately supervising the kids who are enrolled there. This includes making sure that the students are not exposed to any dangerous situations or persons that could cause them to sustain Waltham personal injury. Failure to warn of a danger or remove it despite knowledge of its existence can be grounds for a civil lawsuit.
Unfortunately, schools are favorite places for sexual predators to hunt for their victims. Add what seems to be a common case of officials looking the other way as teachers, coaches, or others abuse kids and it is the children that suffer.
The the statute of limitations for civil Massachusetts sex abuse cases is three years from when the act happened or three years from when the victim reasonably should have or did discover that the abuse caused injury.
Lawsuit: Waltham High principal failed to prevent sex abuse, Wicked Local, December 19, 2011
Former student sues city of Waltham for failing to protect him from sexual abuse, Boston.com, December 19, 2011
Massachusetts Law About Child Sexual Abuse
More Blog Posts:
Dorchester, Massachusetts Child Sex Abuse?: Teacher’s Assistant Accused of Lewd and Lascivious Behavior Involving Disabled Student, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, December 13, 2011
$3M Boston Clergy Sex Abuse Judgments Awarded to Two Victims, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, October 25, 2011
Salem, Massachusetts Sex Abuse Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Revere Van Company for Four Children, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, September 30, 2011
Our Boston injury lawyers represent kids and adults that have been the victim of child sexual abuse or other types of sexual assault.