United States: NYC principal accused of sexually abusing student ‘nearly every day’

A former Manhattan school principal has been accused of sexually abusing one of his students nearly every day, grooming her and addressing her as his ‘princess’ and ‘baby’, according to a federal lawsuit, New York Post reported.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, alleges that Brett Kimmel, once the head of the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School, engaged in a prolonged period of inappropriate conduct with the student.

The student, who now resides in Maryland, claims that Kimmel groped her, pressured her to perform oral sex, and attempted to have intercourse with her just before her 18th birthday.

The alleged act began over a decade ago, when the girl was in eighth grade, and escalated during her freshman year, with Kimmel bombarding her with inappropriate texts and emails daily, the report stated.

These communications reportedly continued even after the girl’s older sister confronted Kimmel about his disturbing messages in the summer of 2012.

In her lawsuit, the student claims that Kimmel molested her during car rides to and from school throughout her sophomore and junior years.

She said that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) also bears responsibility for the prolonged misconduct due to “negligent supervision”.

The lawsuit accuses the DOE of failing to adequately train staff and faculty on recognising and reporting suspicious behaviour and ignoring student comments about the ongoing abuse.

Despite the serious allegations, the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools said that no complaints had been filed against Kimmel. According to city payroll records, Kimmel earned 182,844 US Dollars in the fiscal year 2015 before departing the DOE in the fall of that year. He now works as an education consultant in Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

Meanwhile, Kimmel’s attorney, Alan Sash, has denied the sexual abuse allegations and has demanded that the case be dismissed in court filings.

However, the student’s attorney, Julia Kuan, stated that her client is seeking unspecified damages and initiated the lawsuit to ensure accountability, preventing similar harm from happening to others.

Though the girl did not report the abuse to the police at the time, Kuan has refrained from discussing further details due to client confidentiality.