COVINGTON, Ky. — A Northern Kentucky woman is suing her former teacher, who was convicted of abusing her, several other employees and the entire school district.
A civil suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on Aug. 10 against the Covington Independent School District, the Board of Education of the Covington Independent School District, 10 staff members or employees and Mason Goins, a former teacher at Holmes High School, who was convicted of sexually abusing one of his students.
Covington police initially said they received a call from staff at Holmes High School reporting inappropriate communication between a teacher and a student.
Goins, who was first arrested in March 2025, pleaded guilty in April 2026 to promoting a sexual performance by a minor, possession of matter portraying the sexual performance by a minor and sodomy in the third degree. Goins is currently serving out his sentence at the Fulton County Detention Center in Hickman, Kentucky.
In her lawsuit, the former Holmes High School student, who is named "Jane Doe" throughout the lawsuit, claims the defendants negligently failed to "supervise, investigate and report conduct that they knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, was occurring on school property and during school hours."
"One or more administrators, faculty members or staff of Holmes High School and/or the District received information, complaints or observations — including but not limited to reports from students, staff or other, and/or their own direct observations — that raised concerns regarding the nature of the relationship between Defendant Mason Goins and Plaintiff, and/or regarding Mason Goins's conduct with students generally," the lawsuit reads.
Goins was eventually arrested after almost a year of abusing the former student when Covington police obtained his phone and found a Snapchat conversation between the two, nude photos of the then-teen and videos of her engaging in a sexual act.
The woman is suing for damages for the physical, psychological and emotional injuries she suffered, and will continue to suffer, due to the defendants, according to the lawsuit. Specifically, she is seeking compensatory damages in an amount to be determined to compensate for her injuries and damages, as well as punitive damages against Goins and the other defendants to their individual capacities.
