Jury clears Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools of wrongdoing in Myers Park sexual assault case

A federal jury in Charlotte found Friday that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools did not discriminate against a former Myers Park High student who claimed that school officials failed to prevent or properly investigate her claim of being sexually assaulted by a fellow student in 2015.

The verdict by the six men and two women brought a dramatic close to an emotional four-day trial in uptown involving the lawsuit filed by a woman known in the courtroom only as Jane Doe. She claimed she was sexually discriminated against by CMS when Myers Park High officials inadequately responded to a violent assault she says she endured on Nov. 3, 2015, by another Myers Park student.

The jury decided, however, that Doe and her attorneys had not proven that CMS and Myers Park High had been “deliberately indifferent” to her assault claims. That’s an essential element of proving discrimination claims such as Doe’s that are filed under Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sexual discrimination by schools or educational programs receiving federal money.

In a statement, CMS welcomed the verdict. “We are grateful the jury reached their decision after hearing all of the evidence.”

Doe said she was disappointed but not beaten.

“Despite the verdict today, I am grateful that I was able to inspire change and speak up for the survivors,” she said in a statement. “I am disappointed, but I know it’s not the end.”

“We are not done fighting,” said Laura Dunn, a Washington, D.C. attorney who led Doe’s case. “Our client has been heard, and while the jury did not think that CMS’s response had been deficient, we know the true impact on her and the other survivors who bravely spoke out in this matter.

“CMS had changed its policies and procedures since this litigation for the better, so it was worth her speaking out.”

The verdict ends a seven-year political, cultural and legal battle that has roiled CMS framed by one question: Are female students safe?

In the Doe case, the jurors reached their decision after considering radically different narratives.

Doe, then a 17-year-old high school junior, testified Thursday that she was assaulted by a male classmate known in court documents by the initials “Q.W.”

The 18-year-old first flirted with Doe with texts that quickly turned sexual, then urged her repeatedly over a matter of days to skip class with him and leave campus. She finally did on the morning of Nov. 3, 2015. But she claims she was forced to do so. She sent text messages to friends and family calling for help and saying she had been kidnapped.

About a mile away, in an area near Park Road Shopping Center known as “the bamboo forest,” Doe says Q.W. forced her to have oral sex, which damaged her throat and left her sweater stained with semen.

She sent a series of texts to a friend after the incident: “I was attacked.” “I feel so gross.” “If I have aids ima kill myself.”

In her closing arguments to the jury, Dunn said the emails were intentionally left out of any incident reports filed by school officials to protect the reputation of Myers Park, a prominent CMS high school.

Had the school aggressively responded to the early reports that Doe had been abducted, the sexual assault would have been prevented, Dunn argued. Instead, in a matter of days, school officials concluded that the sex was consensual, not an assault.

Anthony Perkins, the former Myers Park assistant principal who led the Doe investigation in 2015, testified that the school reached its conclusion based in part on comments Doe reportedly made to Brad Leak, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer assigned to the school, after Leak brought Doe and Q.W. back to campus.

According to Perkins, Leak told him that Doe had said there had been “no force, no kidnapping, no assault.” He also said the school’s investigation had been hampered by the refusal of Doe’s parents to allow their child to talk with school officials.

The exploration of Doe’s claims was Perkins’ first and only investigation of a sexual assault — a distinction Dunn seized upon in two-hours of contentious verbal sparring with Perkins, who frequently asked her to repeat her questions or gave answers that were indirect at best.

At one point, Dunn homed in on Perkins’ failure to include Doe’s texts that she had been attacked in his incident reports.

“Attack. Was that relevant to your investigation? Please point out to me where you use attack,” Dunn said in a rising voice.

“Are you shouting at me?” Perkins replied.

“I’m asking,” Dunn said, “for the sake of the jury.”

Jane Doe’s argument

Under Title IX, sexual violence on campus is considered a form of sex-based harassment, which federally funded school systems such as CMS are required to address when complaints arise. CMS officials also are required to investigate reports of sexual violence at school.

Doe sought compensation for damages that include physical and psychological pain, suffering, impairment, lost wages, loss of educational opportunity, attorneys fees, costs and “further relief that justice may require,” according to the claim.

On Friday, Dunn gave the jury a number to consider. She said Doe deserved $1 million.

City claims previously dismissed

U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad on Thursday threw out Doe’s claims that the City of Charlotte and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department had improperly hired and retained Leak, the police officer involved in the Doe investigation.

Prior to the start of the trial, the court dismissed all claims against Perkins, Leak and Kerr Putney, former chief of CMPD.

That left CMS. Doe’s attorneys throughout the trial set out to prove to the jury that school officials, including Perkins, conducted an inadequate investigation after Doe told officials what happened to her.

Conrad’s decision to remove the city from the case came the same day as the most-anticipated part of the high-profile trial — when Jane Doe spent hours on the stand recounting the 20-minute time span on Nov. 3, 2015, involving her sexual assault, what led up to the incident and what followed.

The defense maintained officials thoroughly investigated the incident, followed procedure and believed the incident was consensual and that Doe willingly skipped school with the male, rather than being kidnapped. Q.W. also denied using force, attorneys said.

Attorneys for CMS also said Leak handled Doe’s incident appropriately based on what she told school officials. Doe testified Thursday that Leak saw her and Q.W. leaving campus and he yelled, “Where are you going? I’m calling your mom,” Doe said.

CMS attorney Terry Wallace told jurors Doe had a number of opportunities — such as when Leak called out to her — to ask for help if she felt kidnapped or uncomfortable.

Wallace said school officials also suspended Q.W. for 10 days pending the investigation, and the school also dropped Q.W. from a science class and lunch period he and Doe shared. School officials also fast-tracked Doe’s request to transfer to South Mecklenburg High.

Doe’s lawsuit, filed in November 2018, is one of at least three sexual assault cases filed against CMS. Former Myers Park High student Jill Roe filed a lawsuit in December 2019 that was settled for $50,000 in the spring. Serena Evans, a former Myers Park High student and tennis player who says her report of being raped in a high school bathroom in 2016 wasn’t properly investigated, filed a lawsuit against the district in June 2022.

Charlotte Observer reporter Gavin Off contributed.