Three women who attended Oconto Falls High School have filed a civil rights lawsuit against the school board, claiming the district ignored and even covered up their grooming and sexual abuse by teachers and coaches.
Three women who attended Oconto Falls High School have sued the local school board, claiming district officials ignored a years-long pattern of sexual grooming and abuse by teachers and coaches that left students vulnerable.
Amanda, Brooke and Grace (whose last names are being withheld to protect their privacy) filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday in Milwaukee, accusing the Board of Education of Oconto Falls Public School District of deliberate indifference to repeated warnings about staff misconduct spanning more than 20 years. The suit, brought under Title IX and the 14th Amendment, seeks unspecified damages and demands stronger safeguards for students.
The women say they were groomed and abused as minors but only realized in 2025 that the district’s unwritten customs and policies enabled the abuse. They allege at least nine staff members preyed on at least 14 victims from 2005 to 2025, with officials repeatedly failing to investigate reports, discipline offenders or protect children.
Amanda claims her tech education teacher began grooming her as a sophomore around 2010. He took her on frequent off-campus drives, discussed his sex life and marriage, held her hand and made romantic advances, according to the complaint. The grooming culminated in a 2012 sexual assault at a hotel during a school competition, when she was 17. Multiple teachers, administrators and even janitors saw the pair together repeatedly outside class hours, the suit says. Amanda confided in one teacher and submitted a troubling essay describing her emotional pain and a teacher sharing personal details, yet no action followed, the complaint states.
Brooke alleges an assistant volleyball coach groomed her starting in summer 2013, when she was 15. The coach sent nude photos via Snapchat, pressured her into sexual acts in a vehicle and at her home, and tried to isolate her from family while promising to help her become a college athlete. Brooke’s mother hosted overnight stays where the coach’s own mother — a health teacher and mandated reporter — was present and allegedly aware the pair shared a bed. Complaints reached the athletic director, who responded only with a talk about “boundaries,” the suit says. A 2014 police investigation followed, but the district allowed the coach to continue working, later hiring her elsewhere before she returned and allegedly abused another student.
Grace claims the same coach, then a substitute teacher, groomed and assaulted her in early 2018 when she was 17. The suit says the district’s failure to properly flag the earlier case allowed the return.
The complaint includes a chart listing 14 alleged victims and describes a “pervasive culture” where staff observed warning signs — hallway encounters, late-night messages, students in teachers’ offices — but did nothing. One staff member allegedly grinned at the sight of a teacher and student together. Others knew of inappropriate touching, “hottest girls” lists, quid-pro-quo grading and social-media propositions, yet took no meaningful steps, according to the filing.
The women argue their claims against the board only accrued in 2025, when they learned of the broader pattern through conversations and investigation. Until then, they say, they had no reason to know the district’s systemic failures caused their injuries.
District officials pushed back in a statement issued Wednesday. They said the specific allegations involving two former employees were reported, investigated and referred to law enforcement years ago. One employee was convicted and imprisoned; the district acted promptly in each known case, they said.
“The district is confident that its past actions … have satisfied its duty to keep its students and schools safe,” the statement read. “In every instance in which the district became aware of allegations against an individual, definitive action has been taken.”
The lawsuit names no individual teachers as defendants, focusing instead on the board’s institutional responsibility. It cites cases involving unnamed staff members, including one recent criminal arrest of a staffer for misconduct with multiple students.
Amanda, Brooke and Grace say the abuse caused lasting harm, including PTSD, depression and anxiety. They want monetary compensation and policy changes, including mandatory training on grooming, stricter reporting and investigations.
The case highlights ongoing scrutiny of how public schools handle staff misconduct. Federal civil rights claims like these often turn on whether officials had actual knowledge of a substantial risk and responded with deliberate indifference.
The suit remains in its early stages. The board has not yet filed an answer.
