LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A lawsuit filed July 1 against a former Lakota teacher, Superintendent Ashley Whitely and Principal Bill Brinkman claims the teacher was able to use district technology and apps to groom, and later abuse, a young student over the course of around three years.
The lawsuit goes on to say that when the district learned of the allegations against that teacher, it allowed him to take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act instead of placing him under administrative leave; that teacher was then allowed to retire before investigations were closed by both the district and the Butler County Sheriff's Office, the lawsuit says.
WCPO is not naming the teacher, because he currently does not face any criminal charges tied to the allegations made in the lawsuit.
What the lawsuit claims
According to the lawsuit, the teacher encountered the student involved during her seventh grade year at Liberty Junior School, when she was 13 years old. The teacher did not teach any classes this student was enrolled in, but he welcomed her into his classroom during study hall periods, the lawsuit says.
The teacher showed the student "special attention and developing a relationship with her," the lawsuit says. The student and teacher began messaging one another on Lakota Local Schools' Remind app — a district-wide app used for student/teacher communications, the lawsuit says.
Rebecca Surendorff, co-founder of Ohioans for Child Protection, said that when trusted adults sexually abuse children, the relationship often develops gradually through a process known as grooming.
"A trusted adult will start to step out of those normal healthy mentoring relationships and begin crossing important boundaries," Surendorff said. "It can begin with very small actions and keep building over time."
In those messages, the student confided personal information, including about her mental health, to the teacher, according to the lawsuit. The student's parents realized the extent of her conversations with the teacher and worked to intervene by establishing boundaries and limiting her time on the messaging app outside of school hours, the lawsuit says.
The student's mother was "hesitant to cut off communication entirely" because the student "lacked consistent relationships and her mother felt that she could benefit from a mentor as long as healthy boundaries were put in place," the lawsuit says.
Still, the messages were never investigated — or monitored in any way — by the school district, the lawsuit claims.
"If the district had monitored the activity on the Remind app, this unsafe dynamic could and should have been recognized immediately, and the district could and should have intervened," says the lawsuit.
As time went on, the lawsuit says the student entered eighth grade and began missing her regular class time, because the teacher began pulling her from class for meetings. The district never informed the student's parents that she was missing class, the lawsuit claims.
The teacher continued to message with the student during the summer between her eighth and ninth grade years, when school was not in session, the lawsuit says.
"In June 2024, he sent her a photo of himself on vacation through the Remind app," reads the lawsuit. "The two then continued to playfully discuss how they were messaging so frequently and how inappropriate it was for a teacher to send a photo to a student."
At that point, the student's parents barred her from using the messaging app outside of school, according to the lawsuit. Still, the district did not investigate, monitor or raise any concerns with messages exchanged in the app.
When the student began ninth grade, she moved to a different building at the Lakota East Freshman Campus; she was not a student of the accused teacher, nor did he teach in the same building as her classes at this point, the lawsuit says.
WATCH: Here's what the lawsuit claims
Still, the teacher went to the student's building each Friday "to eat lunch with her alone in the 'mindfulness room,' often with the door closed," says the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses the district of permitting those meetings to take place with no oversight and with no notification to the student's parents.
Lakota Local Schools ended its contract with the Remind app at the start of the 2024-2025 school year; still, the teacher began contacting the student through her district email account and through the student's district Google Docs account — which was used through the student's district-managed Chromebook, the lawsuit says.
Throughout her ninth-grade year, the teacher continued to remove the student from her classes for "meetings," to the point where the student was warned her continued absence from class could carry consequences, the lawsuit says. Despite those warnings, the student's parents were never notified that their child was missing class, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that the teacher became "increasingly bold in his actions," to the point where he was visiting her after extracurricular activities; he also reached out to the student's therapist in January 2025, according to the lawsuit.
The two continued to meet during extracurricular events and run-ins outside of school that the teacher claimed were "coincidence," according to the lawsuit.
Then, in March 2025, the lawsuit alleges the student's mother asked to see the student's Chromebook, while she was using it; when the student's mother opened a browser, Canva — an online graphics design tool — opened to a document shared with the teacher, who was "actively typing and immediately deleting extremely sexually graphic content on the live document," the lawsuit says.
The parents began recording the screen and called the Butler County Sheriff's Office; the messages continued for nearly an hour and were still happening when deputies arrived, the lawsuit says.
Allegations leveled against the Lakota Local Schools district
After the messages were reported to Lakota Local Schools, the Butler County Sheriff's Office and Butler County Children's Services, the district never provided any further updates to the student's family, the lawsuit claims.
The district told the student's parents the teacher would be placed on administrative leave, and agreed to safety measures to keep the student's access to technology limited, according to the lawsuit.
Weeks later, the lawsuit says the parents learned the district did not place the teacher on administrative leave, but instead allowed him to take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, the lawsuit says.
Then, "less than two weeks after the sexually explicit messages ... and before any of the involved entities had completed their investigations, the district approved his retirement," says the lawsuit.
Then, in December 2025, the student managed to contact the teacher during the school day; this was reported by another student to the district, but the district never informed the student's parents, the lawsuit says. Instead, it was only reported to law enforcement, according to the lawsuit.
A few days later, the student's parents learned their child had not been at an extracurricular activity as planned, the lawsuit says, and "it was discovered that she was picked up from the school by the defendant." The two apparently drove to a park for a while before the teacher returned her to the school, the lawsuit says.
The district responded to the parents' concern about this by telling them the district could not guarantee the student would remain in the school building if she chose to leave campus, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit goes on to point to several other Lakota staff members who, over the last decade, have faced charges or allegations tied to inappropriate relationships with students, specifically citing Justin Dennis, former Superintendent Matt Miller, George Merk and others.
Allegations of lack of oversight, mismanagement of medicine by school nurses
The lawsuit also alleges nurses with the district did not pay proper attention or care when administering medication to the student involved.
The lawsuit says the student was able to stockpile Tylenol pills over the course of several days, after multiple requests, because the nurse failed to ensure she took the pills each time they were given. The student then used those pills to make an attempt on her own life and was hospitalized, the lawsuit says.
Despite that attempt, the lawsuit says the district still did not put any corrective measures in place to monitor the student with medication.
During an overnight, district-sponsored trip, the lawsuit says the student requested her prescribed anxiety medication from the nurse on the trip.
"Rather than dispensing [the student's] medication herself and monitoring her while she took it, the nurse handed [the student'] the bag of medication for all students, directed her to search the bag for her own medication and allowed her to self-administer her own medication," reads the lawsuit.
Then, 10 days after returning from that trip, the student went again to the nurse to request her anxiety medication, but was told it was unavailable because the nurse who'd been on the trip "failed to check the students' medications back into the office upon their return."
The lawsuit is requesting a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages in the case.
Surendorff said allegations involving grooming can span months or even years before they're discovered.
"There are plenty of cases where you can see abuse last for multiple years," she said. "We often believe that our child is going to come home and tell us if someone has assaulted them. But it is rare in the trauma that they will be able to disclose."
Lakota Local Schools' response to the lawsuit
In a statement shared with WCPO 9, Lakota Local Schools reiterated that "the safety of our students is always our first priority."
"The District denies the allegations made against it in the lawsuit and believes that it contains many inaccuracies, which will be addressed by our legal counsel," the statement reads. "Due to the active litigation regarding this situation, we are limited in what we are able to share at this time."
The district went on to say that the lawsuit stems from allegations against a former Lakota employee, and the district first learned about the allegations from the West Chester Police Department. The statement says the district placed the former employee on administrative leave and they opened an internal investigation, but the individual "submitted their resignation by retiring, effective immediately, before due process and our internal investigation could be completed."
"Again, the safety of our students is first priority. We cannot stress enough that anyone, including parents, students or community members, who has safety concerns should contact a Lakota administrator," the statement reads.
You can read Lakota Local Schools' full statement below:
The safety of our students is always our first priority. We investigate all alleged threats, acts of misconduct, and safety concerns that are brought to our attention, including those that raise questions about the actions of staff.
We take every precaution to ensure the safety of our students, including requiring mandatory and thorough background checks and fingerprint clearance prior to hiring any individual, and updated background checks throughout their employment, as required by law. We expect our staff to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times.
The District denies the allegations made against it in the lawsuit and believes that it contains many inaccuracies, which will be addressed by our legal counsel. Due to the active litigation regarding this situation, we are limited in what we are able to share at this time.
What we can say is that the lawsuit stems from allegations against a former Lakota employee. After first learning about these allegations from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the individual was immediately placed on administrative leave and an internal investigation was opened. However, the individual submitted their resignation by retiring, effective immediately, before due process and our internal investigation could be completed.
Again, the safety of our students is our first priority. We cannot stress enough that anyone, including parents, students or community members, who has safety concerns should contact a Lakota administrator. We also partner with SaferSchools Ohio to provide an anonymous tip line via phone or text, which can be reached at 1-800-SAFEROH.
