A former New Westminster schoolgirl is suing the school district and a former teacher alleging she was sexually abused starting in 1978.
In a March 27 B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim, the woman, whose name is anonymized in court documents, claimed she suffered psychological and sexual abuse by teacher David Roett while she was a student at New Westminster Secondary School.
The lawsuit, filed by lawyer Sandra Kovacs, names School District #40 (New Westminster) and Roett as defendants.
The claim said the girl was 17 years old at the time and a Grade 11 student. Roett had been privately tutoring her as she struggled with math, according to the court documents.
“Roett was authorized by the school district to spend time alone with the plaintiff in isolated settings for the purpose of providing subject tutoring,” the suit said.
The suit further alleged, “Roett engaged in a pattern and continuum of manipulative behaviour by which Roett used his role as the plaintiff's teacher to gain the plaintiff's trust and confidence with the aim of exploiting that confidence and trust for his own sexual benefit.”
The suit claims the grooming led to sexual activity. It said the district breached its duty to the girl and was negligent.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Among other issues, the suit claims the woman has suffered:
- profound shame;
- post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms;
- depressive symptoms;
- anxiety symptoms;
- attention deficit disorder symptoms;
- hypervigilance;
- procrastination;
- distorted thinking; and,
- an impaired ability to trust others.
The suit seeks multiple damages.
The school district has not responded to a request for comment.
The lawsuit said it does not know of an address of Roett for service of the lawsuit. Glacier Media could not contact Roett for comment.
