Settlement expected in sexual assault lawsuit against Montville schools
Apr. 13—NEW LONDON — A proposed settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against the Montville school district filed by a former student who was sexually assaulted by a teacher.
Details of the settlement have not yet been approved, said attorney Kelly Reardon, who represents the the former student known in court records as Jane Doe. She declined to comment prior to the final approval of the settlement.
After years of legal wrangling, the case was scheduled for hearing on Thursday with jury selection slated to start on April 18. Both the hearing and jury selection were canceled in anticipation of the proposed settlement.
The suit stems from the case of former Montville music teacher Russell N. Andrews, who was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by 20 years of probation in 2009 for the sexual assault of two different students, ages 17 and 18, in 2008. He was 34 at the time he was sentenced.
Andrews, now 47, remains on the state's sexual offender registry.
"Jane Doe" was a 17-year-old high school senior when Andrews started an inappropriate relationship with her that included sex inside the high school. The suit alleges "negligence and carelessness" by the school district in failing to report suspicious behavior by Andrews or perform an adequate background check on Andrews, among other allegations.
The result, the suits claims, is a victim who suffers from "mental anguish including anxiety, bi-polar disorder, post-traumatic stress syndrome, panic disorder, multiple suicide attempts, and nightmare and/or night terrors." She also suffers from the stigma associated with being the victim of a sexual assault, the suit claims.
The suit was filed in 2019. In April of 2020, "Jane Doe" offered to settle the case for $400,000. The settlement was not accepted and court motions continued over the last several years.
The Montville school district, represented by attorney Jeffrey Kennedy, has argued in court documents that letters from Andrews' former employers in the Hamden and Lebanon schools districts never raised any "red flags." Lebanon Public Schools, where Andrews previously worked, had provided Montville with a letter of recommendation and called Andrews a "great role model for students in music."
As it turns out, Russell had left the two previous school districts under a cloud and "apparently Andrews' job in Lebanon ended after he viewed pornography using a school computer," according to documents submitted in court by the Montville school district. School officials in Montville claimed it did not know about a separation agreement with Lebanon schools that ended his employment in 2003 after a year in the district.
Similarly, the Montville school district claims that despite a letter of recommendation, Andrews had left the Hamden school district in 2007 with a signed a "Memorandum of Understanding," that he would resign and not oppose his claims for unemployment compensation.
"It bears repeating, both school districts provided glowing reviews and indicated they would hire/rehire Andrews 'without reservation," the document filed by the Montville school districts reads.
Kennedy did not return calls seeking comment.
