Legal Analysis By Attorneys
Breaking Legal News
According to The Gazette, a basketball coach at Doherty High School and a paraprofessional at Mountain Ridge Middle School has been arrested for sexual assault.
George Pollard, 31-years-old, is suspected of unlawful sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl. The investigation into Pollard began after police received allegations of sexual assault by one in a position of trust, reported The Gazette. Pollard allegedly initiated contact with the girl for several months.
Details regarding the sexual assault have not been released. Pollard remains in El Paso County Jail on no bond.
Attorney contributor Dan Lipman is an experienced sexual assault attorney and works with victims of sexual assault in civil lawsuits. Below, we asked Dan to share insight on the legal options of victims sexually abused by a coach or school employee.
“Schools and clubs have a legal obligation to ensure the safety of the children enrolled are in the safest environment possible. Despite the unfortunate circumstances of numerous teacher sexual assault cases arising in the United States, schools and clubs must do their best to implement proper safeguards. For example, schools and clubs should implement security measures such as cameras, guards, and reporting systems, to uphold student’s safety.”
“When a teacher or coach abuses a victim, the victim and their family should question if the school did everything possible to prevent the abuse. Often predators seek out positions of trust in these settings to abuse victims sexually. If a school did not do everything in its power to prevent the abuse from occurring, the school or club might be deemed negligent in the abuse. An example of negligence is if prior misconduct has been reported and ignored, but there are many other forms of negligence. Victims of teacher or coach sexual abuse should secure the services of an experienced sexual assault attorney to explore all their legal options.”
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