Legal Analysis By Attorneys
Breaking Legal News
The prosecution and defense have made their closing arguments and jury deliberations have begun in the sexual abuse trial of former Coral Springs Middle School custodian and assistant coach Robert Grant.
Grant faces four counts of sexual battery and seven counts of lewd and lascivious molestation.
He has been accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy at the Coral Springs Middle School gym in October of 2017. Multiple other students also testified regarding similar allegations of sexual abuse.
The now-17-year-old student testified that he trusted Grant as his mentor and that Grant exploited this trust in order to sexually abuse him. He told the court that Grant groped him at least a dozen times before performing oral sex on him in the school's gym.
Prosecutors have accused Grant of grooming the victim for several months before abusing him.
Grant has denied all allegations and turned down a plea deal for a 15-year sentence. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
Jury deliberations began on Wednesday, October 30 and are scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
Attorney contributor Michael Haggard represents sex abuse victims and their families in civil lawsuits. Michael has offered to share some information on the legal rights of school sex abuse victims and their families:
Sadly, sexual predators are often found working in trusted positions with children, including in our schools. Teachers, coaches, custodians, and other potential school employees must be thoroughly vetted in order to make sure no sexual predators are hired and trusted with students. Additionally, our schools have a legal duty to have adequate safeguards for reducing the risk of students being sexually abused by school employees.
When a school employee is arrested for sexually abusing a student, the school should also be investigated. It's important to ask how the abuse may have been preventable and if the school failed to meet their legal duty to protect their students. Some cases of school employee sex abuse are preventable and only occur due to negligence. In such cases, the victims and their families may have grounds for a lawsuit.
If you or a loved one is a survivor of sexual abuse by a school employee, you can learn more about your family's legal rights by speaking with one of our experienced sex abuse victims lawyers in a free consultation.
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