Judge will not dismiss lawsuit against Alamance-Burlington Board of Education over middle school teacher’s sexual misconduct
BURLINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) — A lawsuit against the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education will continue, according to new court documents.
The school board had filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against them related to the sexual misconduct of a middle school teacher at Southern Elementary School, which Judge Gale Adams heard Monday.
“Judge Adams informed the parties on July 17, 2024 that the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is denied,” according to court documents.
Allegations against Ardila-Perez
The lawsuit was filed against Alamance-Burlington Board of Education in August 2023, alleging that the school system was negligent and deprived a middle schooler her right to a sound education by employing a teacher who had been accused of sexual misconduct.
The complaint stems from April 2023, when Ivan Danilo Ardila-Perez was charged with two counts of indecent liberties with a student and two counts of indecent liberties with children during his tenure as a Spanish teacher at Southern Alamance Middle School from August 2022 to April 2023, when he was charged.
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According to warrants, Ardila-Perez “took indecent liberties” with an 11-year-old student for the purpose of “gratifying sexual desire” on Feb. 26. Then, on April 12, he allegedly took indecent liberties with a 12-year-old student, committing “lewd and lascivious act upon the body” of the student.
At the time, the school district said in a statement, “There is no greater priority than the health, safety, and welfare of our children” and that the school system is “cooperating fully with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office as part of an ongoing investigation involving alleged misconduct by a Southern Middle School teacher.”
During a court appearance in 2023, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Olivier said Ardila-Perez is in the U.S. on a work visa and is not a U.S. citizen. He does not have a criminal record.
“There was a disclosure by several victims in this matter as far as him being inappropriate with those minor children who are under the age of 13 at this point,” Olivier said. “… There were victims who were having to hide from him in the school because he was trying to chase them down to speak with them yesterday.”
The plaintiffs have asked for an extension for the mediated settlement, requesting that it be pushed back from mid-August to January 2025, according to documents.
The lawsuit
According to the lawsuit filed, multiple female students, including the plaintiff, went to the front office of Southern Alamance Middle School during the spring semester of the 2022-2023 school year and spoke with Principal Matt Ritter and Assistant Principal Terran Harris.
When the girls spoke with the principal and assistant principal, the students said that Ardila-Perez made them uncomfortable and that he was “grabby” and “touchy.” They asked to be removed from his class.
“Plaintiff and her classmates also disclosed to Principal Matt Ritter and Assistant Principal Terran Harris that they called this teacher ‘Mr. Touchy’ because of his behaviors towards them,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit goes on to accuse Ardila-Perez of sexually abusing the plaintiff on school property during school hours. The lawsuit alleges that the man touched the girl, then 13, inappropriately and attempted to kiss her.
The school reportedly did not take any action to prevent the plaintiff from being sexually abused and harassed by Ardila-Perez prior to his arrest at the end of April 2023, even after the principal and assistant principal were told that he was making multiple students uncomfortable.
“No action was taken by Defendant ABBOE to remove Ardila-Perez from their school, remove Plaintiff from his class, or minimize the risk of sexual abuse and/or harassment to Plaintiff or her classmates,” the lawsuit said.
He was suspended by the school district after the school district was notified by law enforcement of their criminal investigation.
At a news conference held shortly after Ardila-Perez’s arrest, then-Superintendent Dane Butler was directly asked if there had been reports to administrators about the suspect’s behavior.
Butler said that he “could not act on ‘concerns’ but had to ‘verify’ allegations for any ABBOE investigation or action.”
The lawsuit says the district knew about the concerns regarding Ardila-Perez but “engaged in willful and deliberate indifference to ongoing harassment and sexual abuse suffered by Plaintiff
at school such that Defendant ABBOE prevented Plaintiff from accessing her constitutional right
to sound basic education.”
The plaintiff cites Article I, Section 15, and Article LX of the North Carolina State Constitution in saying that ABSS has a duty to “guard and maintain” the plaintiff’s right to her education
“Taken together, Article I, Section 15, and Article IX, Section of the North Carolina Constitution required Defendant ABBOE to provide the students under its care, specifically including Plaintiff, sound education with appropriate supervision and an opportunity to learn free from sexual intimidation, abuse, exploitation and/or harassment,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleges that the school district’s “willful and deliberate indifference” to the sexual abuse suffered by the student is a failure of their constitutional duty to provide a safe educational environment.
The lawsuit goes on to state:
“The academic performance of and the personal life of Plaintiff suffered greatly as result of the perpetually chaotic school environment created by the sexual abuse and exploitation that Defendant ABBOE permitted and condoned, and Plaintiff suffered substantially adverse educational consequences. …
“Defendant ABBOE knew or should have known about the sexual intimidation, abuse, exploitation and/or harassment being perpetrated upon Plaintiff by Ardila-Perez while she was student at Southern Alamance Middle School and that the sexual intimidation, abuse, exploitation and/or harassment was infringing Plaintiffs constitutional rights as Defendant failed to take reasonable action to this prevent this egregious conduct.”
The lawsuit alleges that the school district’s “deliberate indifference” to the abuse and the “horrible impact” it would have on the victim has caused her to suffer physical, mental and emotional injuries.
As a result, the lawsuit asks for a jury trial of the case and damages of $25,000.
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