TYNGSBORO — The defense lawyers for Innovation Academy Charter School and its former teacher, Ryan Deery, have transferred the alleged sexual misconduct case against them from Middlesex Superior Court, where it originally was filed, to U.S. District Court.
The Oct. 1 Notice of Removal claimed that several of the 12 counts in plaintiff Jane Jones No. 600 complaint rise to the level of federal jurisdiction. Among the counts, the alleged victim is suing IACS for violating Title IX. The case was transferred on Oct. 2.
Congress enacted Title IX in 1972. The statute prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, including sex-based harassment and sexual violence.
The defendants’ attorneys argued in their filing that because claims alleging violations of the U.S. Code and the Constitution present a federal question, “this action is removable to the federal court … .”
Plaintiff alleges abuse started when she was 14
Jane Jones No. 600 (a pseudonym allowed by a judge) filed a civil complaint against the Tyngsboro-based school and the former teacher on July 31. She alleges that she was “groomed, sexually harassed, assaulted and raped by Ryan Deery, a teacher in that school.”
The alleged abuse began when the student was a 14-year-old freshman, and the teacher was 32 years old and married. IACS is a public charter school in Tyngsboro for students in grades 5-12.
On Aug. 3, Middlesex Superior Court Judge William Barrett allowed two ex-parte motions from the plaintiff, one to use a pseudonym and that her address be omitted from the record, and another to impound her affidavit “until further order of the Court.”
Jane Jones’ complaint alleges sexual assaults and rapes occurred from 2015, when the she was 17, until well after the plaintiff graduated in 2016, extending as far as 2022. She filed a temporary civil protection order against her former English teacher in September 2023.
According to district court documents, following the judge’s impoundment order, Jane Jones’ affidavit was submitted to the court “in a sealed envelope.” The document is provided to the defendants upon receipt of service, which took place in September.
The plaintiff’s sealed affidavit is not publicly available among the court records for the case, but it will be introduced in the jury trial proceedings.
School denies knowledge of abuse
In a letter to IACS families dated Aug. 26, IACS Head of School Greg Orpen said “these allegations are shocking to all of us,” and denied that IACS had any knowledge of the alleged conduct until the former student made her legal claim.
According to both the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Children and Families, school personnel are mandated reporters who have a duty to report when they have reasonable cause to believe that a child under the age of 18 years is suffering physical or emotional injury resulting from abuse, including sexual abuse, among other listed concerns.
Jane Jones’ lawsuit claims that Deery’s “unusual and frequent interactions” with her were noticed by both students and teachers in IACS.
“No IACS employees, who were mandated reporters, made any report of this information to the Department of Children and Families or the Tyngsboro Police Department, despite the requirement to do so under [Mass. General Laws Chapter 119, Section 51A],” her complaint said.
Complaint and demand for relief
The 12 counts in the complaint include negligence; negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention; negligent infliction of emotional distress; violations of various General Laws of the commonwealth; violations of Title IX; battery; assault; negligent infliction of emotional distress; intentional infliction of emotional distress; civil rights; and violations of various educational practices under the General Laws of the commonwealth.
The plaintiff asks the court for judgment on each of the counts against both IACS and Deery, “in an amount that is fair, just and adequate, plus interest, costs, and attorney’s fees,” in accordance with state law.
Attorneys decline to comment
Janine Kutylo, with Boyle, Shaughnessy Law P.C., of Boston, represents IACS; Paul Robertson, with Bowditch Attorneys, of Southboro, is the attorney for Deery; and attorneys Carmen Durso, who specializes in representing sexual abuse survivors, and Jeffrey Beeler and Amanda Bryant of Heinlein Beeler Mingace & Heineman, P.C., represent Jane Jones.
None of the attorneys responded to a request for comment on the case, although Robertson previously said his client denied the allegations in the civil case.
The alleged victim has requested a jury trial and damages of $1.02 million.
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