UPDATE on pending sex abuse lawsuit against Wellsville school - victim attorney answers questions

Wellsville school board president Al Mosher says he has no comment about a news conference planned in New York City Wednesday in which attorney's plan to file a sexual abuse lawsuit against the district. In fact, most Wellsville district officials told us they were unaware of the suit. According to a media release, a group of prominent attorneys and their client will hold a news conference in front of the NYC Department of Education headquarters to announce the filing of the first lawsuits against public schools throughout the State of New York under the newly enacted Child Victims Act. In a lawsuit to be filed against the Wellsville Central School District, the release said plaintiff Joanne Schoonmaker alleges rape by a man who was employed as a janitor at the Wellsville Middle & High School attended by the alleged victim. The release stated that from the time Schoonmaker was 12 or 13-years old she was allegedly sexually abusing on and off school grounds. It is unclear when the alleged abuse was reported in Wellsville. The New York Child Victims Act was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo February 14. It opens up a one-year window to allow all victims access to the courts regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred. That one-year period begins on Wednesday.

Attorney Taylor Boren provided the following update to Regional News on the pending lawsuit against the Wellsville school district:

1.Robert Wade’s (alleged) abuse of Joanne began around early spring 1980 when Plaintiff was a Seventh Grader (12 years old), attending Wellsville Middle and High School.

2.The abuse (allegedly) occurred continuously from its onset in spring 1980 until fall 1982, spanning the latter part of Seventh Grade, Eighth Grade, Ninth Grade, and the early part of Tenth Grade.

3.To the best of Joanne’s knowledge, no action was taken by the middle/high school or school district. During fall 1980, Plaintiff got into a fight with Wade’s younger sister, who attended the same school, in their classroom. They fought about whether her brother was abusing Joanne. When their teacher broke up the fight, Joanne was escorted to the Principal’s office. She explained the basis for the fight and told the Principal that Wade was abusing her (and that Wade had even demanded that she seem him later that same day). The Principal advised Joanne that she not meet Wade that day and just stay away from Wade going forward. To the best of Joanne’s knowledge, nothing further was done. No one contacted her, either from the school or police department, and Wade continued to (allegedly) abuse her for several more years, including on the premises of the high school.

Original post: http://wellsvilleregionalnews.blogspot.com/2019/08/sexual-abuse-lawsuits-to-be-filed.html