Opinion ID: 1406021
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Doe-2's complaint describes the facts leading to White's harassment of her in Urbana, facts that we accept as true in this appeal from the dismissal of Doe-2's complaint for failure to state a claim. Sharp Elecs. Corp. v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 578 F.3d 505, 510 (7th Cir.2009). From 2002 to 2005, White was an elementary school-teacher in McLean County, Ill. During that time, he sexually harassed his female students through methods that included hugging students and holding them on his leg, having students massage him and wrap their legs around him, showing students sexually suggestive photographs, and commenting on students' sexual attractiveness. Easily the most disturbing form of abuse was what Doe-2's complaint describes as a taste test game, in which White would blindfold students and then place foods in their mouths using a banana, his hand, or his penis. Doe-2 identifies several McLean County school officials who were aware, at least at some level, of White's harassment: Jim Braksick and Edward Heinemann, principals of the elementary school where White worked; Dale Heidbreder, assistant principal; Alan Chapman, superintendent of the McLean County School District; and John Pye, the assistant superintendent. These defendants allegedly knew of several complaints from students and parents relating to inappropriate touching between White and his female students, including White's having students massage him and wrap their legs around him. Another complaint related to White's showing a sexually suggestive photograph to a student and commenting on her appearance. The McLean County School District decided to get rid of White but didn't fire him outright. Instead, the District took a series of actions that Doe-2 characterizes as passing White to Urbana. In April 2005, the District and White entered into a severance agreement that, according to Doe-2's complaint, intentionally concealed White's sexual harassment of his students. Heinemann, Chapman, and Pye also provided a falsely positive letter of recommendation for White, which again made no mention of White's sexual harassment. In August 2005, the Urbana School District hired White to teach second grade at one of its elementary schools. At around that time, the District sent a Verification of Teaching Experience form to the McLean County School District. Assistant Superintendent Pye completed the form and reported that White taught in his district for three complete school years, 2002 to 2005. The Urbana School District received the form from Pye on August 29. While teaching in Urbana from 2005 to 2007, White sexually harassed several of his female students, including Doe-2, using methods similar to those he used in McLean County. Following his arrest by Urbana police in February 2007, White pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse of two of his McLean County students and eight of his Urbana students, including Doe-2. Doe-2, through her mother, Julie Doe-2, sued the McLean County School District and the five individual school officials named above for failing to disclose White's sexual harassment before he could assault Doe-2. Doe-2 also sued the Urbana School District and several Urbana school officials, but these Urbana defendants have settled with Doe-2 and are no longer parties in this case. Doe-2 asserted a Tile IX claim against the McLean County School District, alleging that the District's concealment of White's sexual harassment amounted to a deliberate indifference to the safety of the students in Urbana. Doe-2 also raised supplemental Illinois tort law claims against all of the McLean County defendants. She claimed that the defendants violated their obligations under the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Abuse Act (ANCRA), 325 ILCS 5/4, by failing to report White's sexual harassment to state authorities, and that this ANCRA violation caused Doe-2 to suffer White's abuse. Doe-2 also claimed that the defendants acted with willful and wanton disregard for her safety by concealing White's sexual harassment and thereby allowing him to obtain a job in Urbana. The district court dismissed all of Doe-2's claims under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The court reasoned that the McLean County School District could not be liable under Title IX for White's sexual harassment of Doe-2 in Urbana, since that harassment occurred outside of the District's control. As for Doe-2's tort claims, the court concluded that Doe-2, an Urbana student, failed to identify any duty that the McLean County defendants owed to her under Illinois tort law.