Boonville, Indiana - Former Boonville High School Teacher Matthew Evans Charged with Sexually Assaulting Student

Ex-Teacher Charged with Raping Boonville High School Student

A former teacher at Boonville High School has been charged with rape based on allegations that he sexually assaulted a student twice in his classroom after school hours, according to court documents.

27-year-old Matthew Evans resigned from Boonville High School in the first week of December and was arrested on a warrant on Thursday, December 20. He has been charged with rape as a level 3 felony and sexual battery as a level 6 felony. The first alleged incident occurred on January 30, 2018.

According to the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office, Evans attempted to kiss the student while they were in his classroom. The student told Evans that he was wrong to do this and that the incident made the student uncomfortable. Evans allegedly texted the student after they left the room.

The student told police that they visited the classroom again and that Evans groped the student while they tried to push him off.

According to investigators, several students reported a pattern of Evans inappropriately touching female students and walking into the girls’ dressing room when students were not fully dressed. Several of these students also told a school administrator that Evans touched them inappropriately and that these incidents made them feel uncomfortable.

Legal Recourse for Victims of Sexual Assault by School Employees

Attorney contributor Jeff Gibson helps survivors of sexual assault find answers, support, and justice in civil lawsuits. We’ve asked him for some input into the legal options of those who have been sexually assaulted by teachers and other school employees:

In any field that involves working with children, it’s crucial to make sure that all employees and volunteers are trustworthy people and that the children they’re working with are safe. But unfortunately, sexual predators often seek out such positions – as we regularly see with nationwide headlines about teachers and other school staff sexually abusing students. These victims deserve justice and their abusers must be held criminally responsible. Additionally, in some cases, the school also must be held accountable for failing to prevent abuse.

For example, a school might be considered negligent and partially responsible for sexual abuse by a teacher if the school failed to run a background check or failed to report previous allegations of sexual misconduct to the police. When negligence is found to have contributed to the abuse, the victims and their families may have a case for a school sex abuse lawsuit.

If you or someone you love has been sexually abused by a school employee, you can better understand your legal options by speaking to an experienced sex abuse survivors attorney.