A lofty-sounding title for a pervert.
Christian school in North Carolina slapped with lawsuit over alleged sexual misconduct
'The current leadership seems to equate throwing people under the bus with standing for righteousness'
A Christian school in North Carolina has been slapped with a civil lawsuit alleging negligence regarding the former dean of spiritual formation allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct with a student.
Asheville Christian Academy, a PreK-12 private school in Swannanoa, neglected to report the sexual abuse against an anonymous female student by 52-year-old Jason Ingle, a coach who was previously listed as the school's dean of spiritual formation before he was terminated last June, according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 9 in the Buncombe County Superior Court.
Ingle was arrested last June and placed at the Buncombe County Detention Facility on a $10,000 secured bond, according to arrest warrants cited by local ABC affiliate WLOS. The warrants alleged Ingle was "unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously" engaged in a sex act with an 18-year-old student in February 2024.
The lawsuit alleges that the female student, who began attending ACA at age 10, was groomed by Ingle "all with the goal of lowering [her] inhibitions with the ultimate plan of sexually abusing and exploiting [her]."
Some former students claim the alleged grooming began when the plaintiff "was in 7th or 8th grade," according to the suit.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that Ingle would meet alone with the girl early in the morning for athletic workouts, was seen alone in his car with her on numerous occasions, and would spend significant amounts of time during school hours alone in his office with her, sometimes with the door closed, blinds drawn and lights out.
Ingle also allegedly had a photograph of the girl on his desk beside a photo of his wife, and would eat alone with her during school functions.
The lawsuit alleges that the school "unconscionably allowed this egregious and outrageous conduct to continue without taking any steps to report, intervene, investigate, discipline, pursue criminal charges, stop the grooming, abuse and exploitation or take any other steps to protect [the student]."
The lawsuit claims staff worked together to "cover up the grooming, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse" of the plaintiff.
The lawsuit claims that "ACA administrators, faculty and staff willfully and wantonly failed to intervene and failed to report the abhorrent behaviors as required by law." It also names former head of school William George, former associate head of school Wade Tapp, as well as Taylor Bell and Alexis Zanias, two teachers who have since been placed on administrative leave.
The school resource officer escorted George off the school's campus when he was terminated in June over the situation, according to the lawsuit. George had served as the head of school at ACA for 32 years.
A source connected to the school suggested to The Christian Post that the ACA Board of Directors' handling of the situation was wrong and has put current employees on edge.
"The current leadership seems to equate throwing people under the bus with standing for righteousness," the source said. "This makes the current faculty and staff feel like their positions are tenuous."
The ACA board assured CP in a statement that they are committed to maintaining the safety of students.
"Asheville Christian Academy was recently named in a lawsuit," the school's board told CP in a statement. "We are reviewing the complaint allegations and will respond to them during the course of litigation. We consider it essential to our mission to keep our students safe and maintain an environment in which they can thrive."
ACA made headlines last fall when their campus was largely destroyed by the swell of the nearby Swannanoa River during Hurricane Helene, which led to approximately $15 million in damages.
Sexual assault trial of former priest Eric Dejaeger begins in Iqaluit
Trial is scheduled to take 2 weeks
The trial for a former Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse began at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit on Monday.
Eric Dejaeger faces eight counts of historical sexual assault.
The charges stem from what is alleged to have happened while Dejaeger was working as a priest in Igloolik between 1978 and 1982, according to court documents. The investigations happened between 2011 and 2015.
Dejaeger was arrested on the charges in Kingston, Ont., in June 2023 and taken into custody in Iqaluit. He was 76 at the time. He was then granted bail on the condition that he live at the Henry Traill Community Correctional Centre in Kingston, which has 24-hour supervision.
The trial in Nunavut was adjourned to Tuesday morning while Crown and defence lawyers discuss an issue surrounding Inuktitut interpretation and a police officer's notes.
The Crown is expected to call its first witness when the trail resumes.
This is not the first time Dejaeger faces a sexual abuse trial. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2015 after a court found him guilty of 32 counts of child sexual abuse during his time as a priest in Igloolik. He was released on parole in May 2022.
Sentenced to 19 years in 2015, paroled in 2022? He spent just 7 years in jail for 32 counts of child sex abuse. Canadian justice is all about the criminal and nothing about the victims.
The judge-only trial is scheduled to take two weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment