Local News: Former special education student sues school district and assistant for alleged sexual assault (06/14/24)

A former special education student who was allegedly sexually assaulted by his special education teacher's aide is suing the woman accused of sex crimes as well as the Scott County School District.

Kristin R. Kirker, then 27, was charged in November with two counts of sexual contact with a student, a class E felony.

The lawsuit accuses Kirker and seeks compensation for childhood sexual abuse, battery, assault, false imprisonment and invasion of privacy.

The lawsuit seeks compensation from the school district for negligence and breach of ministerial duties; violation of the Missouri Human Rights Act; negligent infliction of emotional distress; negligence and breach of ministerial duty to provide assistance to the applicant; and negligence itself.

The complainant is listed as “John Doe” to protect the minor’s identity. Attorneys John P. Clubb and Laura Clubb represent the plaintiff. The complaint was filed in Scott County Circuit Court.

Schools Superintendent Bradley J. Kolwyck said in an email Thursday that the district has not yet been served and “is unable to comment on student matters or pending litigation.”

The lawsuit accuses district staff of having suspicions of inappropriate interactions between the plaintiff and defendant, but failing to adequately investigate the behavior. The lawsuit describes Kirker as grooming the student for sexual activity, using his authority and power to do so.

Kirker asked for the student's phone number during baseball season, the PC statement said, followed by an exchange of sexually explicit photos. Kirker and the student allegedly had sex in the student's room, according to a probable cause statement released in the case. The probable cause statement describes Kirker, the assistant, as being left alone in a classroom with the victim, at which time the teacher's assistant performed oral sex on him.

The victim was a special education student who had an individualized education plan (IEP) for a language impairment in the areas of semantics, morphology and syntax, as well as a diagnosis of language deficit disorder. attention/hyperactivity or ADHD. The student's condition caused him to have “a more limited vocabulary than that of students who do not have a disability,” the lawsuit claims. Kirker was the special education aide responsible for implementing the victim's IEP, the lawsuit explains.

Because of the teacher/student dynamic, “the victim was not free to leave the defendant's control on the Kelly High School campus,” the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit says the school district neglected to adequately supervise the defendant and failed to follow its policies and procedures.

Kirker is not the only Kelly teacher facing sexual abuse allegations.

Lindsey Limbaugh also faces a charge of sexual contact with a student. She was a special education teacher.

“Unbeknownst to students and parents, the District employed two individuals who raped, sodomized, abused, and injured vulnerable students in the District's special education classrooms,” the lawsuit claims in its opening. “The district knew or should have known that two sexual predators posed a risk to students, staff and the public. The district and its administrators failed to adequately supervise these sexual predators and continued to employ them despite the red flags and warning signs that something was terribly wrong and students were suffering harm.

In a press release, attorney John P. Clubb said, “Our public schools have a duty not only to educate our students, but also to provide them with a safe learning environment. Scott County School District R-IV completely failed in its duty to protect the victim from sexual abuse. This lawsuit was filed to hold these parties accountable and to ensure that no other students are sexually assaulted by their teachers or staff.