Jun 21, 2011
MacGillivray Law
Victim sues school board over alleged assault by teacher
An alleged victim of Carl Skidmore’s is suing the former employer of the retired Stellarton High School teacher.
A notice of action has been filed against the Chignecto-Central regional school board, which replaced the former Pictou regional school board. It alleges the board "knew or should have known" that Skidmore was sexually abusing teenage students.
"We think they knew and they didn’t act. That’s the theory," said lawyer Jamie MacGillivray of MacGillivray Injury and Insurance Law of Halifax and New Glasgow.
He is representing the claimant, who is seeking monetary damages.
Skidmore taught English and coached boys’ basketball at Stellarton High from the 1970s to the 1990s. In 1996, he was convicted of gross indecency for sexually assaulting two boys during the 1970s.
According to the notice of action, the plaintiff was failing Skidmore’s class during the early 1990s. Skidmore allegedly invited the student to his home to help him pass the course but sexually assaulted him.
"The plaintiff suffered severely in terms of his identity, self-esteem, personal development, social development and ability to concentrate and focus on his studies," reads the notice of action.
The plaintiff allegedly fell into a life of crime and substance abuse as a result. The allegations have not been proven in court.
MacGillivray ran an advertisement in the New Glasgow News over the weekend asking people to contact the law office if they had complained to the school board about Skidmore’s alleged conduct before 1990.
MacGillivray said that even if the school board was not aware of Skidmore’s alleged behaviour, it is "vicariously libel" by having conferred authority upon him.
A spokeswoman for the school board said the board does not comment on active legal matters.
In January 2008, charges against Skidmore of buying and trying to buy sexual services from young people and sexually touching young people with whom he had an exploitive relationship were dropped in a plea deal that saw him sentenced to two years in prison for trafficking marijuana.
"Among the victims, there is a level of anger and a sense that the justice system has failed," MacGillivray said.
"I can’t comment on how the community feels."
By AARON BESWICK Truro Bureau
Tue, Jun 21 - 4:54 AM
Topics: Long Term Disability, Auto Accident, Civil Suits
