A class action can go forward against a school board, which a former student wants to hold responsible for the actions of a teacher on staff. The one who was only 17 years old at the time alleges that this professor sexually assaulted her and that he would have made other victims.
Judge Marie-Hélène Montminy of the Superior Court authorized the action against the Center de services scolaire de l’Or-et-des-Bois, in Abitibi. The action for damages can now go through all the steps leading to a trial, during which it will be determined whether the school service center is liable or not.
In this action, it is alleged that Jean-Pierre Colas, a French teacher and water polo coach at Polyvalente Le Carrefour in Val d’Or, sexually assaulted Jacinthe Boisvert St-Laurent in 1987.
The teacher is now deceased. The action is thus directed against the school service center which was his employer from 1972 to 1993.
According to Me Maryse Lapointe, who is leading the lawsuit, this would be the first class action authorized against a French-language school service center in Quebec for sexual assaults committed by a teacher.
It is reported that the student’s mother reported the teacher to a Polyvalente leader a few days after the attack. The latter had then revealed that this problem surrounding the teacher was well known, but that nothing could be done.
Jean-Pierre Colas retained his position until he was found guilty of sexual assault on another student in 1993, it is advanced in the press release issued by the lawyer of Ms. Boisvert St-Laurent.
As an employer, the school service center knew at the time that the teacher in question had inappropriate contact with students and the gestures were ignored, said Ms. Boisvert St-Laurent in this press release. She is claiming $600,000 in compensatory damages and punitive damages.
“We were not protected,” said Ms. Boisvert St-Laurent. If the Polyvalente Le Carrefour or the Center de services scolaire de l’Or-et-des-Bois had acted responsibly, “I would not have been attacked” and neither would the other teenagers, she argued.
The action is thus brought for the benefit of all the teacher’s victims. The facts have not yet been proven in court.
According to Me Lapointe, of the firm Lapointe Légal, this action will confirm or clarify the legal responsibility of educational institutions towards children.
“For us, it is clear that there is no justification for an employer’s inaction in the event of allegations of sexual assault on minors. The priority of our schools should always be to protect our children and not the bullies,” she adds.