Jun 21, 2011
MacGillivray Law
Board faces civil suit claiming it employed sex offender
New Glasgow - A civil action suit has been launched against the Chignecto- Central Regional School Board claiming it knew it employed a convicted sex offender.
New Glasgow - Jamie MacGillivray Law Offices filed a notice of action in January 2011 in Supreme Court on behalf of an unnamed plaintiff that the school board knew, among other things, that it was aware of Carl Skidmore's propensity to abuse adolescent males sexually and of previous complaints, and did not act.
"We sued the school board and the school board brought in Carl Skidmore as a third party," said the plaintiff's lawyer Jamie MacGillivray.
"It happened in the time of his employment and he used the position as a teacher to help exploit a student. Because of that, it makes the board "vicariously liable."
Skidmore taught English and coached boys basketball at Stellarton High School during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. The retired teacher was convicted in 1999 of gross indecency against a teenage boy in the 1970s. He was also convicted in 2008 for trafficking marijuana to teenage boys.
MacGillivray said the civil action suit is currently in the discovery stage with both sides in the case collecting evidence.
In an advertisement in The News, MacGillivray Law Offices is asking for people to come forward if they have information about someone who has made a complaint about Skidmore's conduct in relation to sexual abuse.
He said his client is looking for monetary compensation and it wasn't their intention to draw Skidmore into the civil action case.
"We are only pursuing the Chignecto- Central Regional School Board, but if it is found liable, then it (the school board) could try to collect what it has to pay from them."
A representative from the Chignecto- Central Regional School Board said it is aware of the law suit but it does not comment on legal matters.
Topics: Long Term Disability, Auto Accident, Civil Suits
