Gayville-Volin graduate wants teacher added to sex lawsuit
Posted: Monday, December 17, 2007
SIOUX FALLS (AP) -- A former Gayville-Volin School District teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student should be a defendant in a federal civil lawsuit against the district and superintendent, according to a court filing.
The girl, who has since graduated, accused Brad Oakley of seducing her and the district of ignoring his "propensity for inappropriate, sexualized behavior toward students," according to the civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
The Associated Press has a policy of not naming alleged victims of sexual assault.
Besides the district, Superintendent Jason Selchert is named as a defendant.
The district and Selchert deny any wrongdoing and said earlier in court documents that the administration responded quickly and appropriately after learning of the sexual encounter.
Oakley, who no longer lives in Gayville, is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. But earlier this month, Douglas Deibert, the Sioux Falls lawyer representing the district and Selchert, filed a motion to add Oakley as a third party.
"Brad Oakley is a necessary party to these proceedings" so he can also be held responsible, the motion states.
Oakley has 20 days to respond, according to the filing.
His lawyer, Doug Dailey of Mitchell, did not want to comment. Deibert and Maren Chaloupka of Scottsbluff, Neb., the girl's lawyer, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
The trial is scheduled to start July 8 in Sioux Falls.
Oakley voluntarily surrendered his teaching certificate to the South Dakota Department of Education in December 2005, and it was revoked, according to state documents.
Between 2002 and 2005 he was a teacher and coach in Gayville, a town of 400 between Vermillion and Yankton that's touted as the "Hay Capital of the World."
Around 2003, Oakley befriended the girl and her family and gained their trust, the lawsuit states.
As a result, the girl "was conditioned to comply with Oakley's direction and to view and respect him as a person of authority in vocational, athletic, moral and ethical matters," it states.
Such behavior amounted to "grooming" the girl for eventual molestation, which happened in 2005, according to the lawsuit.
In July 2005, Oakley acknowledged having sexual intercourse with the girl and left the district with his wife, who was also an employee.
No criminal charges were ever filed against Oakley.
The girl, who has since graduated, accused Brad Oakley of seducing her and the district of ignoring his "propensity for inappropriate, sexualized behavior toward students," according to the civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
The Associated Press has a policy of not naming alleged victims of sexual assault.
Besides the district, Superintendent Jason Selchert is named as a defendant.
The district and Selchert deny any wrongdoing and said earlier in court documents that the administration responded quickly and appropriately after learning of the sexual encounter.
Oakley, who no longer lives in Gayville, is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. But earlier this month, Douglas Deibert, the Sioux Falls lawyer representing the district and Selchert, filed a motion to add Oakley as a third party.
"Brad Oakley is a necessary party to these proceedings" so he can also be held responsible, the motion states.
Oakley has 20 days to respond, according to the filing.
His lawyer, Doug Dailey of Mitchell, did not want to comment. Deibert and Maren Chaloupka of Scottsbluff, Neb., the girl's lawyer, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
The trial is scheduled to start July 8 in Sioux Falls.
Oakley voluntarily surrendered his teaching certificate to the South Dakota Department of Education in December 2005, and it was revoked, according to state documents.
Between 2002 and 2005 he was a teacher and coach in Gayville, a town of 400 between Vermillion and Yankton that's touted as the "Hay Capital of the World."
Around 2003, Oakley befriended the girl and her family and gained their trust, the lawsuit states.
As a result, the girl "was conditioned to comply with Oakley's direction and to view and respect him as a person of authority in vocational, athletic, moral and ethical matters," it states.
Such behavior amounted to "grooming" the girl for eventual molestation, which happened in 2005, according to the lawsuit.
In July 2005, Oakley acknowledged having sexual intercourse with the girl and left the district with his wife, who was also an employee.
No criminal charges were ever filed against Oakley.
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