Former student says Jordan schools could have prevented sex assault

By Katrina Styx, Correspondant

A former Jordan student is suing Jordan Public Schools for a sexual assault that allegedly occurred during a football camp at Minnesota State University, Mankato in July 2007.

The man, 15 at the time, claims another teen undressed him while he was sleeping, took photos of him in sexually explicit positions and showed the images to other players and coaches.

The civil complaint, submitted by the plaintiff’s attorney, Patrick Noaker of St. Paul, also names the university and alleged attacker, an unnamed juvenile identified as “John Doe D.”

The plaintiff, referred to as “John Doe 132” in the complaint, claims the school district knew or should have known the other boy “posed a risk of injury to other camp participants who stayed overnight in the dormitories,” and that John Doe 132 took prescription medication that made him “extremely difficult to awaken.”

That knowledge, as well as information on past incidents involving John Doe D, should have been passed along to MSU, and both schools had a duty to protect the plaintiff while he was in their care, Noaker wrote

Jordan Public Schools attorney Margaret Skelton of Minneapolis denied the allegations against the district, and assistant Minnesota attorney general Sarah McGee denied allegations against MSU, according to the Mankato Free Press.

Charges include one count of sexual battery, one count of child pornography, and one count of negligence on the part of the school district and MSU.

The man is suing for more than $50,000.

Skelton did not immediately return a reporter’s calls.