The Waterloo Region District School Board is facing a $5 million lawsuit over alleged breach of duty of care that could have prevented sexual abuse from happening at a Cambridge elementary school in the late 1970s.
The woman suing the school board was a student at Stewart Avenue Public School when she alleges the abuse began.
Now 57, she alleges a teacher's aid began sexually abusing her when she was 10.
The lawsuit claims the relationship the aid developed with the plaintiff under the guise of a teacher’s aide, allowed him an opportunity to be alone with her "and exert influence and control over her, prey upon her, and sexually abuse her."
The statement of claim was filed last week in the Kitchener Superior Court of Justice and none of the claims in it have been tested in court.
The teacher is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
No statement of defence has yet been filed by the school board.
The plaintiff alleges Stewart Avenue Public School owed a duty of care to students that wasn't met.
The level of trust that students and others extended to the school and its employees gave them close proximity to perpetrate the alleged abuse, the claim states.
The alleged abuse included fondling and "other sexual and abusive activities" with the plaintiff.
The plaintiff alleges that all of the acts were related to teacher activities and extracurricular events.
The alleged abuser's position of authority and trust, "as well as the dependency relationship he fostered with the plaintiff" ensured the plaintiff "did not tell anyone about the behaviours in which he engaged in."
His behaviour constituted sexual, verbal and physical abuse, battery and assault, the lawsuit alleges.
"This power and authority allowed [the teacher's aid] to engage in the aforementioned behaviour and to continue to engage in same without resistance or question of the plaintiff for years without risk of getting caught, and thereby put the plaintiff at risk of being abused."
The lawsuit alleges the school board failed to properly supervise its employees, instruct them about the "possibilities of becoming sexually deviant" or properly investigate the alleged abuser's background.
The lawsuit alleges the board "fostered a system" in which it was considered "wrong" to report such behaviour and "denied the existence, or alternatively, was wilfully blind to the existence of the behaviour."
The board owed "a high duty/standard of care, and in particular, a duty to protect her from harm by its teachers and specifically sexual abuse" and was negligent in failing in its duty of care, the lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiff said she has suffered a lifetime of damage from the abuse, including physical pain, depression and physical and mental impairment that led to a loss of enjoyment of life.
She has had to undergo medical treatment and psychological counselling at her own expense and seeks damages related to future treatment and ongoing loss of income.