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Last Updated: 7/13/2020
Continue Reading: In the second section of this article, campus sexual assault attorney Brian Kent discusses the legal rights of students sexually abused by school employees.
A former staff member at Hamburg High School has been arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with a 15-year-old student in a classroom at the school. 34-year-old Krista A. Stump faces charges of institutional sexual assault and unlawful contact with a minor.
Stump allegedly sent the student texts and nude photos through a mobile app for three weeks before allegedly sexually abusing him on campus.
Detectives began investigating Stump after authorities were notified through Childline of alleged inappropriate contact between a Hamburg High School employee and student.
Detectives with the district attorney’s office spoke with the student and he told them that Stump had “come onto” him in a classroom at the school and asked him to add her to his Snapchat account.
The student agreed to add Stump and says she started sending him “weird” and “sexual” text messages, along with nude photos of herself. She then allegedly had indecent contact with the student inside of a classroom while they were alone.
This is the second recent case of a Hamburg High School employee allegedly sexually abusing a student. In July 2019, former teacher Holly A. Smith was sentenced to prison for having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male student.
Attorney contributor Brian Kent is a former sex-crimes prosecutor who now represents sex abuse victims and their families in civil lawsuits. Brian has offered to share some thoughts on the legal rights of students who have been sexually abused by teachers and other school staff members:
There is a sexual abuse crisis plaguing our nation’s schools, as countless teachers and other school employees have been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing students. School officials must take this crisis seriously and must do everything they can to prevent their students from becoming victims.
When a school employee is charged with sexually abusing a student, it’s important to ask if the school met this legal duty to protect their students. some student sex abuse cases only happen because of negligence by the school – such as failing to report previous allegations of sexual misconduct involving the arrested employee. If negligence was a factor, the victim and their family may have grounds for a lawsuit against the school district.
If you or your child is a victim of student sex abuse, you can learn more about your family’s legal rights by calling one of our experienced sex abuse victim lawyers for a free consultation.
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