Parent reacts to lawsuit against Lawrence Public schools after teacher accused of assaulting students
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Some parents place their behind a lawsuit filed against Lawrence Public Schools.
The lawsuit filed on Thursday is over the alleged actions of a former school pathologist, 60-year-old Mark E. Gridley.
Gridley is charged with one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child under the age of 14 and one count of kidnapping.
The investigation into Gridley began early last month when a parent called the Lawrence Police Department, reporting that something had happened between Gridley and a student at Prairie Park Elementary.
He was arrested and charged shortly after. Since then, investigators say they uncovered several more alleged victims, bringing the total to eight.
According to police, all of the alleged crimes happened over a two-day period last month.
The new lawsuit was filed on behalf of a 6-year-old whose parents allege her to be one of Gridley’s victims.
It claims that “as a result of the sexual abuse, the plaintiff suffered physical injury.”
The suit accuses Lawrence Public Schools of being negligent when employing and supervising Gridley.
It also states that “the defendant had a duty of reasonable care to properly supervise the plaintiff and to protect the plaintiff from abusive acts and/or sexually inappropriate by its employees, such as Gridley.”
“Our clients are experiencing every parent’s worst nightmare when they drop their kids off at school,” said Reed Martens, the family’s attorney. “The parents are seeking justice for their daughter in hopes that something like this will never happen.”
KCTV5 spoke to a parent who said her son was a former student of Gridley’s.
“He did have him back in kindergarten and first grade, so that’s why I was getting really nervous,” she explained.
The mom said that she had to sit her son down and ask if Mr. Gridley had ever been inappropriate with him.
“I really do think nothing happened to my boy, but it’s still so heartbreaking that it still happened to other children,” she said with tears in her eyes. “We try and protect them from the outside world, but school is supposed to be that one place where it should be ok but no, there are predators there too.”
She said she s the family’s decision to file the lawsuit, given the allegations.
“The family has to do what the family feels like they need to do, and I totally that because how does this happen?” She questioned.
KCTV5 reached out to the school district but was told, “We are unable to comment on pending litigation.”
Gridley is currently in custody. He is scheduled to be in court for a status conference hearing on March 26. His booking picture has not been released at this time.
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