The Suit Against ESD, In Its Entirety

Finally got my hands on a copy of the lawsuit alleging that the Episcopal School of Dallas is culpable for an alleged seven-month sexual relationship between history teacher J. Nathan Campbell and a 16-year-old student, which was filed Monday.  The parents want a refund of all tuition ever paid to the school (the student was enrolled since kindergarten), compensation for therapy/treatment resulting from the alleged misconduct, and further damages which, the lawsuit points out, are not limited under Texas law. You can read the lawsuit by clicking here (and clicking on ESDLawsuit). Be forewarned, some of the allegations are graphic, at least as far as legalese goes.

By Eric Nicholson May. 19, 2010 | 4:55 pm | 20 Comments | Comments RSS
20 comments to "The Suit Against ESD, In Its Entirety"
  1. Mother @ May 20, 2010 at 11:11 am
    This is horrendous. What a terrible situation for everyone involved. I hope this girl can recover and heal and that ESD puts more systems in place to be sure this never happens again. And I hope that Don Godwin doesn’t rake this girl over the coals and humiliate her needlessly for the sake of a win. But I bet he will.

  2. SDM @ May 20, 2010 at 12:01 pm
    WTH is digital vaginal penetration? Does that mean he took a photo of it?

  3. Eric Nicholson @ May 20, 2010 at 12:52 pm
    In this case I think digit = finger.

  4. MG @ May 20, 2010 at 1:37 pm
    It is absolutely ridiculous for this family to sue ESD for something that they were also in the dark about. Why would they violate their daughter (for the supposed 3rd time) in a needless lawsuit aimed at the deep pocket? Punish the man who was stupid and lustful enough to rape a 16 year old. Obviously, this affair was designed to be a secret. The parents have as much responsibility to know what the daughter does as the school. And why haven’t charges been filed? This appears to be a failure on legal and familial level, not just a school level. Any punative action against anyone besides the man responsible is unnecessary and cruel.

  5. A Few More Details on ESD Lawsuit, Accused Teacher « Preston Hollow People @ May 20, 2010 at 2:51 pm
    [...] up to Denton today in search of divorce filings for John Nathan Campbell, the former ESD teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student. In the petition, filed in December (the split was finalized March 26), Campbell’s ex-wife [...]

  6. SDM @ May 20, 2010 at 8:41 pm
    Thanks Eric. @MG – IF (not proven) ESD threatened to expel the victim, then hell yes they should sue the school. that’s effin crazy.

  7. Do You Know Where ESD’s Lawyer Is? « Preston Hollow People @ May 21, 2010 at 12:53 pm
    [...] Gulf Coast. When I spoke with Donald Godwin Wednesday, the attorney representing ESD in a certain civil complaint, he told me he was [...]

  8. Brenda Scott @ May 21, 2010 at 9:54 pm
    Okay people, when will everyone understand this case clearly. Yes the school had the “victim” leave, but really wasn’t it the right decision? She was involved sexually with a teacher, and I’m sure that breaks a good amount of school rules. The fact that this was even made into a case makes everyone look bad.

  9. Lisa @ May 24, 2010 at 11:20 pm
    MG-

    Yes, blame the parents for not knowing that their daughter’s teacher was RAPING her. She can’t consent, it’s RAPE.

    Brenda Scott- SEE ABOVE COMMENT TO MG! Yes, I’m pretty sure RAPE “breaks a good amount of school rules”.

    Why are you blaming the young woman for being RAPED?

  10. HH @ May 26, 2010 at 6:15 pm
    @Lisa
    I can’t say that I’ve read the case in its entirety, but from what I can tell the word “rape” isn’t contained in the language of the court case. This could be because statutory rape doesn’t apply (if she had had relations in the past), or it it could be that they’re using a different phrasing (“assaults”). Regardless, I think the 3,800 emails/texts between the two of them over a seven month period doesn’t hint at rape.

    And I don’t think many people are blaming her necessarily, just trying to defend the schools actions. They are two separate things.

  11. MG @ May 27, 2010 at 8:30 pm
    @Lisa Get real – No one is blaming the victim here. Statutory rape is statutory rape is statutory rape, regardless of whether or not she “consented”. She is not legally old enough to make that decision, so no matter what the texts/emails say, he is a rapist. However, 3800 texts and emails and late night liaisons are PLENTY of evidence for a parent to be suspicious. I assume they pay her cell phone bill?

    The issue is clearly the gap in logic filing lawsuit against the deep pocket instead of public outrage that the real perpetrator – Nathan Campbell – is walking around free. If the parents – who have one child to monitor – didn’t realize their was an issue, how on earth would a school with 800 students realize there was a problem? She couldn’t consent; that doesn’t mean she wasn’t an active participant in hiding the relationship. None of that is an excuse for Nathan Campbell; it is just an excellent reason to hold the real culprit responsible and not drag their daughter through unneccessary litigation.

  12. j1234 @ June 14, 2010 at 4:14 pm
    At 16 years of age, you are competent enough to KNOW better than to accept advances from an adult. She should have IMMEDIATELY reported this to her friends or her parents or ESD but she obviously did not want to. She continued to visit Campbell in his office which was unneccesary. As a former ESD student, I have never witnessed anything like that. Yes, it was Campbell’s fault–NOT ESD’s. This girl knew what she was doing was wrong and failed to stop him. She was “victimized” by being sexually assaulted by an adult but she also should be smart enough to realize that.

  13. Hold On @ June 16, 2010 at 9:55 am
    Before anyone crucifies ESD, take a little time to think about some of the things we do know. 1 – the girl is an only child. 2 – The parents had no clue anything was going on despite the text messages, etc. Yes, the teacher is the criminal here but why was the girl in a frame mind to get into this relationship and stay in it for so long? Could it be that, like so many other children (particularly in wealthy families), the rather obvious detachment from the parents drove her to seek dramatic ways to get attention? Too many times parents opt to love their children with money and not emotion. That is why you see high teenage suicide rates in some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the country or “Cheese” epidemics in Plano, or 14 year olds in AA in the Park Cities. Maybe, just maybe, this situation would not have occurred if the parents had been more involved. Instead, as is so symtomatic of our “blameless” society, they are going to try to shake down ESD. It is too bad ESD cannot counter sue for parental negligence.

  14. ESD Gets a New Lawyer, Answers Suit « Preston Hollow People @ June 28, 2010 at 3:55 pm
    [...] suit, another prestigous North Dallas private school was sued. The Episcopal School of Dallas was sued by parents of a former student who accused the school of not doing enough to stop a 7-month-long sexual [...]

  15. Former ESD Teacher Arrested, Charged With Felony « Preston Hollow People @ July 9, 2010 at 10:34 am
    [...] a May lawsuit, the parents of a former Episcopal School of Dallas alleged that former history teacher John Nathan [...]

  16. ESD Denial @ November 7, 2010 at 1:36 pm
    This is a very unfortunate situation. This is a huge wake up call to the “Holier Than Though” ESD parents who believe their entire campus can walk on water. These ESD parents are so proud to have their kids in a country club environment – not an educational environment, they all blam this poor student? The ESD parents look down on any other school in Dallas – private or public – without merit. ESD is not an academic challenge for any student but the lower IQ kids and the high tuition guarantees a diploma. I am sorry this crime ever happened to ESD but I hope now these snobs are humbled.

  17. Deb Kass @ June 7, 2011 at 10:42 pm
    I just read the ESD Denial. My son graduated from ESD in 2002. We are not a wealthy family and it was difficult to send him there, but we managed. To say the lower IQ kids and high tuition guarantees a diploma is one of the most ignorant comments I have read in a while. This year my son will be receiving his PHD in geophysics at the age of 26. He received an excellent education that enabled him to become the person he is today. The comment is an insult to the majority of students at ESD who worked extra hard to maintain their standing in the ESD community. This is an opportunity for the uninformed to slam a school they probably have never been to other than for a game of some sort. Keep to the subject. A crime was commited and will be dealt with in our courts. Hopefully you will not slam the jurors as well when the decision is rendered.

  18. ESD Snob @ July 31, 2011 at 12:24 am
    As a relatively recent HS graduate I was able to speak to several of kids still studying at ESD… the story they tell of way things happened made the situation seem very different to the description that nearly every post above is trying to make. The students I spoke to were mature and level-headed about the matter. The common trend was that Campbell held the ultimate blame, but that there were many other factors involved, including many of her actions. These opinions were from other girls in her grade at school.

    In response to “ESD Denial”: Your snide remarks about ESD’s parents, faculty, and students discount any and all opinions you have regarding the matter. I don’t know why you hold such a huge amount of resent, but it sounds like a personal problem rather than a problem you should be posting anonymously on the internet. Going for a jog, or a long walk might be more productive. For your sake, I do hope that using this post’s topic as a platform to talk badly about a group of people made you feel better. Deb Kaas’ response shows major class and was very clear. I could not agree more.

  19. @Snob @ July 31, 2011 at 11:39 am
    Snob: The reason that a number of students and parents blame the girl is because they fail to understand nor accept the possibility that she was a vulnerable child who was groomed by a predator. In other words, a teacher in position of authority took someone who may have been weak and then twisted her to do what he wanted. Her response (ie. telling others) was a result of that – she may have intended to boost her self-esteem, for example.

    As evidenced by the disgusting comments posted here and on other blogs – there is no shortage of parents and students who are willing to say horrible things about the victim and her family. Certainly not a very Christian thing to do, huh?

    There was a video made, if you were at ESD, I’m sure you know about it. There were also disgusting, disgusting comments posted by someone who called himself “mailbread” on a site called Reddit.com. His comments have recently been removed, but this student (who was easily identified), not only ‘outed’ the victim, he cursed her mercilessly, blamed her for what happened, and then wrote something like, “.. I hope that does some damage”. He also posted Father Swann’s letter asking that no one discuss the matter.

    So, sorry to disagree with you. There are at least a few ‘duds’ at ESD, and instead of finding fault with those who find fault with ESD, maybe these opinions you find objectionable have some truth to them.

  20. Meansumbitch @ September 22, 2011 at 5:04 am
    There’s a reason why someone wins well over 9 MILLION bucks in a lawsuit….

    I can’t believe the idiots supporting this “church” over this. I’ve never been so ashamed of MY state of Texas in my life with the morons that live around me. Republucan dumba**es… go figure.

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