14 August 2017
Teacher who slept with student ordered to pay him $1M
By NYPost
An Oklahoma teacher who bedded her eighth-grade student nearly a dozen times must pay him $1 million for his severe emotional distress, a federal judge recently ruled.
Jennifer Caswell, a former English teacher at Hollis Middle School, began sleeping with the boy in April 2014 when he was 14 and 15 years old.
The boy testified at his civil bench trial that he and his teacher had sex about 11 times before she was busted in June 2014, according to court documents.
Oklahoma City federal court Judge Robin Cauthron said publicity of the illicit affair derailed the young boy’s life, as he went from being happy to falling into a deep depression.
“The court finds [the victim] has shown severe emotional distress and psychological damage that no young person could be expected to endure,” Cauthron wrote in an opinion published last Thursday. “[He] has lost the companionship of friends, his basketball dreams, and has suffered a great amount of stigma in a small town where he went from a well-known high school basketball star to the topic of derogatory discussion and blame for a large part of the community.”
He was forced to transfer to a different school district, where he was bullied.
“We are pleased that the judge considered the outrageous behavior of the teacher and are pleased with the fact that the judge sent a message to teachers and schools across the state of Oklahoma that sexual abuse of a child by a teacher will not be condoned,” Bob Wyatt, who represents the boy and his father, told The Oklahoman.
Last month, the Hollis Public Schools system paid $125,000 to settle a lawsuit by the family that accused it of covering up Caswell’s sexual abuse.
Caswell, 31, is currently serving a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to rape, forcible sodomy and other charges.
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