A graduate of Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro is suing the school, its former principal, a school social worker, and RSU 40, claiming “outrageous” sexual harassment by former Principal Andrew Cavanaugh.
The grad filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Portland on Friday, Dec. 27. The defendants had not filed responses at press time.
In addition to the school, the school district, and Cavanaugh, the suit names MVHS social worker Chuck Nguyen as a defendant. Nguyen remains on staff at MVHS, according to the RSU 40 website.
In the complaint, the former student alleges that Cavanaugh began to “pay special attention” to her when she was 16. He “made sexually based comments on” her “looks and clothing choices in front of other students and staff members,” in addition to buying her personal hygiene products and giving them to her in front of teachers and students.
According to the filing, the student reported some of Cavanaugh’s behavior to Nguyen, including gifts, an offer to take her to an appointment, and Cavanaugh’s advice that she should be on birth control.
Nguyen said there was nothing inappropriate about Cavanaugh’s actions, according to the filing.
The complaint indicates that during the student’s junior year, Cavanaugh began sending her text messages on a regular basis, with 5,000 text messages exchanged between April and November 2017.
In the text messages, Cavanaugh asks about the student’s sex life, asks for “scandalous” photos of the student at the beach, asks about nude photos of the student, comments on a swimsuit the student wore in his pool, and on multiple occasions says he might spank her.
Cavanaugh texted the student at all hours, including during school hours, at night, and at 2 a.m., according to the complaint.
Over the same time frame, Cavanaugh provided gifts to the former student, including money, which he would give to her directly and deposit into her school lunch account or leave with the secretary, according to the court filing. He called the former student into his office on a regular basis, causing her to miss class.
Cavanaugh’s text messages were persistent and if the student did not respond in a timely manner, Cavanaugh would text her incessantly until there was a response, according to the complaint.
The complaint claims that in July 2017, Cavanaugh bought a car for the student and told her she could work for him to pay it off.
In September 2017, a police officer pulled the student over for speeding and expressed concern about the vehicle being registered to Cavanaugh. The same month, Cavanaugh told the student he would need the car back.
“I like to help you and it does seem to cause problems. I know you are super hot and that probably does influence me, but you must know by now that I really do like you as a person,” Cavanaugh said, according to the court filing.
Cavanaugh resigned Dec. 14, 2017, after an extended and unexplained absence from the school that coincided with a police investigation into a report of inappropriate contact between an unidentified MVHS staff member and a student. The investigation did not lead to criminal charges.
During and after the investigation, the student was contacted and harassed by Cavanaugh’s family members, according to the complaint.
As a result of the harassment, the student became emotionally withdrawn and alienated from her peers, sports, and classes, and on multiple occasions she was unable to attend school because she was so depressed. She was a subject of ridicule and bullying as a result of Cavanaugh’s inappropriate relationship with her, according to the complaint.
A counselor has diagnosed the former student with adjustment disorder, social anxiety, and worsened depression as a direct result of the emotionally traumatic relationship with Cavanaugh, according to the filing.
The complaint describes Cavanaugh’s actions as “extreme, outrageous, beyond the bounds of decency and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.” Meanwhile, MVHS, RSU 40, and Nguyen all “failed to protect” the student from Cavanaugh.
The former student is being represented by Portland-based attorney Rachel Deschuytner and Cambridge, Mass.-based attorney Eric LeBlanc, according to court records.
She is seeking unspecified damages.
The student had filed a notice of claim – a precursor to a potential lawsuit – against the high school, school district, and former principal in June 2018. The notice of claim made similar allegations.
Cavanaugh had been principal since 2015, and was previously a teacher and vice principal at MVHS.
RSU 40 includes the Lincoln County town of Waldoboro and the Knox County towns of Friendship, Union, Warren, and Washington.
