Parent files lawsuit against Carthage ISD

[racehorse2]

https://www.panolawatchman.com/news/parent-files-lawsuit-against-carthage-isd-says-district-didn-t/article_0654e742-498e-11e8-adce-677dcec4fbdf.html

I personally could care less about anything that goes on in East Texas, but this is criminal.  You have the administration, including the head coach, covering up for a half high school quarterback after he was caught filming an underage girl in the shower and "passing" the video around to friends and an assistant coach.  Everybody still has their job and the punk kid is still playing.  I realize it is East Texas and it's almost a foreign country, but damn!

 

NOT ONLY DID NOTHING HAPPEN, THE HEAD COACH GOT A $21k RAISE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT AND CARTHAGE FIRED ITS ONLY SECURITY GUARD TO OAY FOR IT!

I realize meth use is high in this part of the state, but you would hope the Administration had better sense!  Obviously not!

[dillonpanthers]

Oh wow. That is crazy

[Mr. P]

Quote

A Carthage ISD parent has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school district, saying officials didn't act after a Carthage High School quarterback surreptitiously recorded a nude video of her daughter before sharing it with his fellow teammates, a coach and other students.

Carthage ISD, the lawsuit says, created a hostile environment for the daughter by failing to stop the spread of the video.

"Despite actual notice and evidence of (the football player's) conduct, as well as other distributing students, they were given no discipline whatsoever by the school and instead (the football player) was allowed to continue as the star quarterback," the lawsuit said. "Meanwhile, (the daughter) is left to attend Carthage High School, the only public school available to her, while enduring the looks and sneers of students, faculty and administrators who have seen her naked and can continue to do so."

The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Marshall, alleging two counts of Title IX violations and three violations under the 14th amendment for due process and equal protection. Also named as defendants are then-Carthage High School Principal Otis Amy, Athletic Director Scott Surratt and Superintendent Glenn Hambrick.

Because the subjects of the incident are minors, the lawsuit identifies the students involved by their initials. The Watchman is referring to them as a football player and daughter in this story because of that juvenile status.

Carthage ISD Superintendent Glenn Hambrick said Thursday the district is limited by what it can say.

"Since the litigation involves students that are minors, the district and individuals named are not allowed to make comments about the case," he said. "We have turned the matter over to the district's counsel."

According to the lawsuit, the daughter went to a friend's house to shower and hang out with friends after playing volleyball in April 2016. The daughter, a freshman at the time, took a shower and then realized that another student hanging out at the house, the football player, had set up a cell phone in a bedroom to record girls undressing and dressing while showering. At least two girls were recorded nude, the lawsuit said.

The daughter and the other girl confronted the football player, who told them he would only delete the video if they kissed him, the lawsuit said. The girls reluctantly kissed him and thought they saw him delete the video, the lawsuit said.

But the football player didn't, the lawsuit said, and the daughter heard other students making a joke about her in the nude at school later that fall. After confronting the football player and being told she was paranoid, the daughter was told by fellow students that the football team and an unnamed assistant football coach had shared the video, the lawsuit said.

The daughter's mother learned of the video in February 2017 and reported it to then-Principal Otis Amy, who deflected a response, said the football player denied knowledge about the video and told the mother to report the incident to police, the lawsuit said. 

In reporting the video to police, the lawsuit said investigators did nothing until after an FBI investigation and direction from the state attorney general's office. The football player's punishment was pre-trial diversion with no formal charges, the lawsuit said.

Carthage Police Chief Jim Vanover said Thursday that his department did investigate the case and turned over their findings to the Panola County District Attorney's Office for prosecution consideration. He said they were contacted by and cooperated with a federal investigator. Decisions about prosecution, Vanover said, are made by the DA's office and not police.

In following up with Hambrick, the lawsuit says he told the mother it was a "he said, she said" situation and there was nothing he could do.

Both the daughter and mother "have been harassed by students and parents who believe their efforts have harmed (the football player's) football career or the school football team's chance at winning another Texas state UIL championship," the lawsuit said.

 

For the record.

[cotton84]

Wow, you know the head coach and administration is guilty just be reading the article in the paper.............I am going to wait and see what the courts say

[LoboFan07]

Beyond sad. Just ridiculous that anyone from anywhere would go to any lengths to cover something like this up just for a football team.

[Mr. P]

4 minutes ago, LoboFan07 said:

Beyond sad. Just ridiculous that anyone from anywhere would go to any lengths to cover something like this up just for a football team.

Dude...  if that's my daughter, I burn the district to the ground and sow salt over the ashes. Inexcusable. 

[Tatum_DirtyBird]

34 minutes ago, LoboFan07 said:

Beyond sad. Just ridiculous that anyone from anywhere would go to any lengths to cover something like this up just for a football team.

Yeah, some of us in Tatum knew about this back in the Fall and was wondering why the kid was still playing football. 

[Mr. P]

6 minutes ago, NATUREBOY98 said:

Well looks like Surratt is about to fall from his high horse. Gonna have to give up that 30,000 buck raise and that 150,000 salary.  Or give it to that young lady. Hope she rips all involved a new a hole. 

Lol, not a chance. This isn't gonna even be a black eye or a bloody nose. Nothing will come of it. The media will get some clicks and pageviews, self-righteous blowhards like me will opine.

But nothing will change.

[Tatum_DirtyBird]

1 minute ago, Lion70 said:

I highly doubtful they come away with this clean but lot of time has passed as well. 

That could just mean they’ve been gathering evidence. 

[Tatum_DirtyBird]

1 minute ago, NATUREBOY98 said:

Hope the dawgs enjoyed their ride. I don’t see this going away. Who the hell was the assistant coach. If true he’s a damn pedophile. I’ve got 4 daughters and I’d spend the rest of my days in a fly orange jumpsuit in Huntsville if it were one of my babies. 

Don’t forget, every person that shared the video is sharing child pornography if all of it is true. 

[RETIREDFAN1]

6 minutes ago, AKA said:

Lol, not a chance. This isn't gonna even be a black eye or a bloody nose. Nothing will come of it. The media will get some clicks and pageviews, self-righteous blowhards like me will opine.

But nothing will change.

Not after the Penn State incident.........heads will roll on this one......

[CarthDawg77]

This should have been handled the moment..the second it was shown to the first member of faculty; & apparently, that didn’t happen...

[LoboFan07]

12 minutes ago, CarthDawg77 said:

This should have been handled the moment..the second it was shown to the first member of faculty; & apparently, that didn’t happen...

It sounds like the first faculty member that saw it....decided to show it to others. I don't understand how that doesn't send the faculty member to jail. As previously stated, it's pretty obvious that's child porn.

[EastTxFinest]

7 minutes ago, NATUREBOY98 said:

I think Carthage has lifted the heat for everyone, including President Trump. 

What happened there?

[88YoePride]

Yep. Whatever you do, don't learn from WHAT HAPPENED TO ART BRILES. 

[playactionpass39]

10 minutes ago, lloyd45 said:

There’s a bigger picture here. The fact that the kid felt/knew it was okay to even show the coach the video is disturbing. 

There is an even bigger problem here, and the fact that nobody is talking about it is even more disturbing. But, most can't see the forest for the trees.

[Slickarick]

Wow. This is only one reason why technology is hurting more than helping. I pray for the girl and her family. I also hope if found guilty, they throw not just the book but the whole library at all involved. This is not ok at any level. If they need to be made an example of to prove that point then so be it. Sad day in Texas. 

[cotton84]

6 minutes ago, NATUREBOY98 said:

Is there any question that if this wasn’t Carthage and the AD wasn’t Surratt there wouldn’t already be resignations. How could he not resign over this?

I must have missed something. Has it been proven already that Surratt watched the video, talked about the video with students at school, or something that is criminal? 

If any of the accused is guilty, I agree they should resign or be fired. 

[88YoePride]

11 minutes ago, NATUREBOY98 said:

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say he knew something. The kid was the starting QB right? Maybe it’s apples and oranges but I don’t think Paterno knew anything about that freak Sandusky but he was forced to resign. It’s going to make Carthage look like football is more important than anything. Including a young woman’s honor if the don’t let head rolls. He’s named in the suit. I’ve got 4 daughters. This just hits a nerve with me. 

Exactly. According to the article, parents had to get Feds involved to get anything done. School and police say they couldn't confirm victims' story, but soon as FBI got involved, they did. Either school and police didn't get the job done, or they covered it up to protect the program.

[CarthDawg77]

I’ve posted my thoughts regarding what should have been done once it was shown to a faculty member; The kid was a minor who did something stupid, as well as illegal. I will not speculate as to whether he “knew or felt like he could show it to the faculty member”, because that cannot be proven... That faculty member’s failure to act swiftly & accurately is where the plot thickens here. 

Again, the boy did a very stupid thing in the process of being stupid. Not defending his actions here, just stating an opinion. Things escalated greatly once the faculty member failed  to do his job.

[That1GuyUKnow]

18 minutes ago, Slickarick said:

Wow. This is only one reason why technology is hurting more than helping. I pray for the girl and her family. I also hope if found guilty, they throw not just the book but the whole library at all involved. This is not ok at any level. If they need to be made an example of to prove that point then so be it. Sad day in Texas. 

Agreed. This is going too far in feeling that is even close to ok to film that.. and to show it to staff and that staff then did nothing but share it.....that is sickening to me. This whole thing if proven to be true makes me want not just the court but  the uil to put sanctions on this program. 

[MrBuddyGarrity]

Wow

[CarthDawg77]

5 minutes ago, NATUREBOY98 said:

That stupid boy became a distributor of child pornography once he video the girls then showed it to his buddies and a coach. I’m sorry judge I’m a dumb jock isn’t gonna cut it if he goes to court. 

No argument there... I have two daughters myself,& understand the girl’s parent’s position completely.

 

[Sportsfanatic1]

2 hours ago, AKA said:

Lol, not a chance. This isn't gonna even be a black eye or a bloody nose. Nothing will come of it. The media will get some clicks and pageviews, self-righteous blowhards like me will opine.

But nothing will change.

This is it, if the motion to dismiss is denied, it will be settled out if court. About 99% sure about that. I mean it's like lets get this out of the way so we can start sweeping something else under the rug.

My question to you or anybody else, what does the UIL do about all of this?

[po-coach]

love how common sense completely disappears because a "nerve" was hit...truly offended by the actions of a young person, who made a stupid impulsive decision.....much like the "adults " on this website to automatically sling mud and cry for justice to be served to ALL  involved even those that followed the law to the letter and extent. Understandibly fragile subject but i am amazed at how judge and jury appears on a websiter with people not even remotely knowlegable about the entire situation....do i know the entire situation? no.. but i know enough about the character and integrity of some involved to know there is more to this story