Geibel Catholic Junior Senior High School sued over alleged sexually hostile environment
A federal lawsuit lodged against Geibel Catholic Junior Senior High School alleged a male student sexually harassed and groped a female student.
The suit identifies the plaintiff only by her initials, and also names as defendants Geibel’s principal, Patricia Nickler, the school’s superintendent, Maureen Marsteller, and the male student.
The lawsuit alleged the male student grabbed the plaintiff when she was leaving a restroom at the school in 2019, and then groped and kissed her, but she was able to get away when someone opened the door. He also grabbed her in a sexual manner on other occasions, the filing alleged.
The filing further contended the boy sent her unwanted pornographic images, which she immediately deleted, on three or four separate occasions.
After the girl told another student about the incident, the male student contacted her and told her that her actions would make everyone think he was a rapist and if he committed suicide, it would be her fault, wrote the girl’s attorney, Joel Sansone.
The girl’s grandfather learned of what happened and told Nickler, who met with the girl, according to court paperwork. The filing stated the girl did not identify her alleged assailant, but Nickler told her cameras would be installed at the school.
Sansone contended the school did not do that, nor did school officials take any actions to protect his client.
The suit also noted that a guidance counselor overheard a conversation between the female student and another student where the male student was named, and gave the information to the state police in December.
The guidance counselor also informed Marsteller in February about the harassment, and was told that the school would pay for the female student’s therapy, Sansone wrote.
As a result of the alleged harassment, Sansone wrote, the female student’s grades declined, and she suffered “extreme emotional distress.”
Representatives from the Diocese of Greensburg declined comment on the lawsuit because they have not seen a copy of it.
This is the second suit filed against the school alleging a male student sexually harassed or touched a female student. The first suit, filed in February, was settled in August, according to court records.