Bridgewater-Raritan grad alleges school 'chose to do nothing' about teacher's sex abuse

A Bridgewater-Raritan High School graduate who was the alleged victim of sexual abuse by her physical education teacher is suing the school district, claiming educators knew about the abuse "but chose to do nothing to stop it."

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Superior Court in Somerville, alleges that "Jane Doe," who began attending the school in 2011 at age 14, was first groomed by the teacher, identified in the lawsuit only by her initials, L.P., and then became the victim of sexual abuse in her freshman year which continued until her senior year.

In November, Lydia Pinto, 38, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, was charged by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault. Pinto no longer teaches in the school district.

That case is still pending in Superior Court.

Bridgewater-Raritan Superintendent of Schools Robert Beers could not be reached for comment.

The 14-count lawsuit, filed by Somerville attorney Randall Peach, details the relationship between the student and the teacher, who also taught driver's education and coached the girls lacrosse team, from the "classic textbook case of the sexual grooming of a child by an adult authority figure" to physical acts of abuse.

The lawsuit alleges the teacher would take the student, who was "shy, vulnerable," out for ice cream, give her alcoholic beverages and take her to her home where they watched "The Real L. Word," a Showtime show with lesbian themes.

The lawsuit also contends that the teacher warned the student not to say anything about the abuse to adults and led the student to believe they were "tragic star-crossed lovers" whose relationship, though it would have to remain secret because of the student's age, "would later triumph" when she reached adulthood.

Those "reality-distorting" statements, the lawsuit alleges, made the student experience stress, shame, embarrassment, confusion and "extreme anxiety."

While most of the physical acts of abuse took place at the teacher's home, most of the grooming and "emotional abuse" of the student took place on school grounds, according to the lawsuit.

Though the "boundary-crossing" relationship became "common knowledge" at the school, school officials disregarded a report of the abuse made by another student, the lawsuit charges.

"Tragically, nothing was done in response to these complaints," the lawsuit argues. "There was no investigation, no inquiry and no effective steps taken to intervene and protect (the student)."

As a result of the abuse, the lawsuit maintains, the student has "suffered debilitating emotional trauma and permanent psychological injuries."

"It has taken (her) years of clinical therapy and treatment … to fully comprehend the significance of what occurred," the lawsuit says.

In 2023, after making progress in her therapy, the student began "to fully recall and appreciate the extent of the abuse" by the teacher, according to the lawsuit.

"(The student) began to recognize how the abuse had emotionally traumatized her, impacting almost every aspect of her daily functioning, as well as her relationships with her mother, her siblings, and now her wife, among others in her life," the lawsuit states.

That was then she contacted the police.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater-Raritan school district sued over teacher sexual abuse