According to Amanly Mag, a Spanish teacher at Germantown Academy was accused of sexually assaulting a student. Reed Skoug, 56-years-old, was a well-known teacher at the school. She was also the head of one of the houses on campus that contained 70 students.
A former student alleges Skoug sexually abused him while he was enrolled at the school. He claims that she repeatedly abused him while he was a teenager. Reports do not provide specifics regardings the assault or how long ago the abuse occurred.
Amanly Mag reported the allegations were filed in 2020 with the school, but the school allegedly took no action until the accuser pressed the issue. Currently, Skoug does not face any criminal charges.
Attorney Guy D'Andrea represents victims and their families in sexual assault civil lawsuits. In an interview, we asked Brian to share his thoughts on the legal options of victims who have been abused sexually by a teacher.
"Schools and administration must do everything possible to protect enrolled students. Schools have a legal obligation to provide a safe learning environment. To ensure students' safety, schools must implement preventative measures to limit the chances of misconduct and predators from working with children. Unfortunately, there have been numerous teacher sexual assault cases across the country. Implementing safety measures is important to provide a safe learning environment. Safety measures include, but are not limited to, background checks and reporting systems."
"Victims should secure the services of an experienced sexual assault attorney to explore their legal rights. If schools do not implement safety measures and abuse occurs, the school may be considered negligent. Often, sexual school assault occurs due to negligence on behalf of a third party, such as an employer. An example of negligence is if an alleged victim filed a misconduct complaint, but the school did not adequately investigate the incident. In cases of negligence, victims and their families should know they may have grounds for a civil lawsuit against a school and receive compensation for damages."