Lawsuit Filed Against Stoughton Officials Alleging Ex-Teacher Raped Student
STOUGHTON (CBS) -- A former student believed to have had a sexual relationship with ex-Stoughton High School teacher Timothy Norton is now suing the town and public school officials claiming they showed "reckless and careless disregard" for her.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 15 in Norfolk Superior Court, accuses Norton of having a sexual relationship with an unnamed 17-year-old, who's now an older graduate.
Norton declined comment at his home on Tuesday. The Stoughton Public Schools also declined comment, saying it cannot comment on pending litigation.
Officials say Norton is the subject of a police investigation, but he does not face charges at this point.
The lawsuit claims administrators "should have taken measures to question and to stop it." It says there was an investigation when a student came forward in 2015, but nobody was disciplined. As a result, the lawsuit states, the alleged victim suffered a list of consequences, including "sexual abuse and rape."
It names the Town of Stoughton, Stoughton Public Schools Superintendent Marguerite Rizzi, and Stoughton High School Principal Juliette Miller as defendants.
Students say Norton was a popular engineering teacher and softball coach. He resigned after administrators suspended him in September. But that was 2 to 3 years after the relationship began, according to the lawsuit.
"It's got people talking about different things and like, how come the school didn't find out sooner," said student Cierrah Bridges.
"Usually that's where a parent would notice, the school definitely should have checked." Tracy Newborn of Stoughton said.
WBZ-TV reached out to everyone named in the lawsuit. Only one, Rizzi, the schools superintendent, responded by saying she can't comment.
