In effort to quash sex abuse lawsuit, Maryland school board argues survivor partly to blame

The Maryland law passed last year that lifted the statute of limitations for survivors of child sex abuse to sue their perpetrators has survived another legal challenge.

This week a Harford County Circuit Court judge ruled against the Harford County Board of Education’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a former student who said he was abused by two employees in the 1980s and 1990s. The man, identified only as John Doe in the filing, alleges he was repeatedly sexually abused by a teacher at Deerfield Elementary and later by an employee at Edgewood High School.

In its motion to dismiss, attorneys for the school board unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the 2023 law, saying the board is protected from these claims by prior statute of limitations.

But the attorneys also laid out arguments for why they say the survivor may also bear some responsibility for the abuse he alleges occurred as a teenager, writing: “Nowhere in the Complaint does Plaintiff allege that [the accused] forced Plaintiff to engage in sexual activity. To the contrary, the Complaint reveals that Plaintiff had numerous opportunities to extricate himself … yet he chose not to do so.”

The attorneys continued: "The Board respectfully submits that an ordinarily prudent minor of that age knows or should know that repeatedly engaging in sexual conduct with an adult carries certain risks and consequences."

In an interview with News4, the survivor called that argument “reprehensible.”

“It shows how out of touch they are with true victims that they do not understand the abuse that has occurred and the mental health aspect to that,” he said.

The man called his years in public school “the most difficult years of my life” and said “the damage thrust upon me by my offenders is a life sentence that will never go away.”

In their response to the board’s motion to dismiss, attorneys for John Doe wrote: “To suggest that a child can consent to his sexual abuse is morally outrageous and legally meritless."

This week, Harford Circuit Court Judge Alex Allman dismissed the constitutionality challenge but also dismissed a count of negligent infliction of emotional distress brought by Doe.

A spokesperson for the Harford school system declined News4's request for comment on the lawsuit, though they're expected to appeal the judge's decision.

Doe’s case is the latest challenge to the state’s landmark abuse survivor law.

Earlier this month, a Prince George’s County Circuit Court judge ruled a class action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Washington can proceed, dismissing a similar challenge brought by the church to the constitutionality of the Child Victims Act. In that case, three men are suing the Archdiocese for abuse they say they endured as children.

Attorneys for the archdiocese argued the institution is protected from civil lawsuits because of the 2017 Maryland law they say granted them “vested rights” to be free from liability as non-perpetrator defendants. The judge disagreed.

As in the Harford case, that matter is expected to head to appeal and likely the Maryland Supreme Court.

Reported by Tracee Wilkins, produced by Katie Leslie, and shot and edited by Jeff Piper.