Sibley, Iowa — One of the co-defendants in the civil case brought against the Sibley-Ocheyedan School District on behalf of a boy who was allegedly sexually abused by a former teacher at the Sibley-Ocheyedan Middle School — has asked the court to dismiss the petition against it.
The plaintiff in the civil case is a minor, identified only as “C.A.” and C.A.’s mother, “J.A.” The plaintiff alleges that he was sexually abused by former Sibley-Ocheyedan teacher and coach Kyle Ewinger. A criminal case charging Ewinger with Second Degree Sexual Abuse is scheduled to go to trial in December.
Late this summer, the plaintiffs added to the suit, two other school districts where Ewinger was employed. They listed alleged questionable acts in those districts, and said that they too were negligent in not alerting future employers of this conduct, which could have prevented the eventual alleged sexual assault of the victim. The other schools named are the Mediapolis Community School District and the Sioux City Community School District.
The Mediapolis Community School District (or MCSD), where, according to court records, Ewinger was last employed in 2004 is asking for the petition against it to be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
They claim that MCSD has no duty to C.A. or J.A. as a matter of law, and that C.A. and J.A. have no standing to bring an action against MCSD. They say that whatever happened between Ewinger and C.A., if anything, did not occur while Ewinger was an employee of their district. Plus they say that they would be exempt from claims for punitive damages anyway under Iowa code.
The Mediapolis Community School District’s brief says that they have no duty to notify future employers of Ewinger’s alleged behavior, and J.A. and C.A. would not have any standing to assert such a claim, as they were not the ones who employed Ewinger. They say they do not have any obligation to C.A. or his parents.
The brief states, “It would appear apparent MCSD has neither the right nor ability to effect what does or does not occur in Sibley.”
While Ewinger’s criminal trial is scheduled to take place in December, the civil suit against the school districts is scheduled to go to trial over a year from now, on October 23rd, 2018 at the Osceola County Courthouse in Sibley.
