KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A former student in the Blue Valley Unified School District has filed a civil lawsuit against the school district for neglecting to take action against a teacher’s inappropriate behavior.
The lawsuit states former theater teacher Jeremy Riggs began grooming the former student in the spring of 2018 during her junior year at Blue Valley High School. It also claims Riggs used his position of power “to isolate, groom and engage in sexually inappropriate contact with students.”
The former student was sexually assaulted by Riggs in October 2018 at the Johnson County, Kansas, school after building hours, per the lawsuit.
Riggs was charged with sexual battery in April 2019 and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in September 2019. He served six months of probation, which ended in March 2020. The state revoked his teaching license in August 2021.
The suit alleges the Blue Valley School District failed to “exercise reasonable care in retaining and supervising Riggs as an employee of the district.”
It also says the school district was aware of behavior consistent with the inclination to groom or assault female students and continued to employ him.
The former student claims the sexual assault and the school district’s negligence have caused physical pain, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life, among other sufferings.
She is seeking compensatory damages greater than $75,000, according to the lawsuit.
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