Pottsgrove told to pay $125,000 over sex case

Pottsgrove school officials have been ordered to pay $125,000 to a former high school student after a jury found they failed to act on warnings that the girl was sexually involved with a music teacher.

The U.S. District Court jury found that former Pottsgrove High School principal Joyce Wishart had "actual notice" of the relationship between student Jeanette Chancellor and teacher Christian Oakes, but was "deliberately indifferent" to Chancellor's rights, according to the ruling, first reported in the Legal Intelligencer law journal.

Chancellor is now 23. She identified herself in court filings.

The lawsuit, filed in 2006, alleged that Oakes and Chancellor began a sexual relationship in summer 2003, at the end of her junior year. That was soon after Oakes selected her as drum major, a leadership position in the school band. At the time he was 29, and she was 17. From an early age, court papers said, the girl had struggled with depression, anorexia and bulimia.

The suit said the two had sex more than 45 times, at a band camp, in the closet of the band room at school, in Oakes' car, and in a hotel during a band trip to Virginia Beach, Va., in April 2004.

"We were grateful the jury saw it our way in terms of assigning responsibility to the school officials who had it in their power to prevent this," said Chancellor's attorney, Joseph Fioravanti of Media.

He said he hoped the verdict sent a message to school districts about the need for oversight and the risk of liability.

He noted the Pottsgrove school system could also be responsible for paying attorney's fees, which could equal the sum of the judgment.

Schools Superintendent Bradley Landis issued a statement yesterday saying he had "faith in the legal process and I respect the judgment of the court."

"In recent years, the district has become increasingly proactive about training staff and principals about harassment issues," said Landis, who became superintendent last year. New teachers are now routinely educated on proper conduct and school board policies have been strengthened, he said.

He noted that the administrators, principal and teacher in the case are no longer employed by the district.

Defense attorney Anne Hendricks declined to comment yesterday.

During the proceedings, U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno held that Chancellor's admission that the sex was consensual carried no benefit for the defense, because a high school student can never truly consent to a sexual relationship with a teacher.

Oakes was also engaged in a sexual relationship with another female student, identified in court papers only as "A.P." In April 2004, that girl's mother became suspicious and contacted police, who arrested Oakes. He later pleaded guilty to two counts of corruption of a minor.

Chancellor's case centered on whether Wishart, the principal, was aware of the sexual relationship between student and teacher, and whether, after becoming aware, she was indifferent. Chancellor contended the principal knew of the relationship; Wishart said she did not.

According to court documents, in summer 2003 a school board member told the then-superintendent that he saw Oakes leaving a restaurant with a female student, identified as Chancellor. The superintendent then told Wishart, the principal, who spoke to Oakes.

He said he had taken both drum majors, Chancellor and a male student, out to lunch following a uniform fitting. Wishart said Oakes' response satisfied her, and she reported his statement to the superintendent - who when questioned about the matter denied that the principal had contacted her, according to court documents.