Education

Massachusetts Held Liable for Abuse of 2 Students

May 11, 1988 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has held the state liable for damages for failing to keep a man convicted of child molestation out of the teaching profession.

The state high court’s ruling last month came in a case involving the molestation of two Boston schoolboys by their teacher in 1979.

Prior to 1978, the teacher, Edward Darragh, had been convicted three times on child-molestation charges. That year, as a condition of his parole, he was ordered to refrain from teaching or associating with young boys.

Nevertheless, he subsequently took a job teaching science at the Barnes Middle School in Boston. In 1979, Mr. Darragh was convicted on nine counts of indecent assault and battery after being charged with molesting two boys at the school in a locked storage room, according to Charles R. Capace, the lawyer who represented the students in the case.

Parole Officer’s Negligence

In 1986, a superior-court jury found that the boys were entitled to damages under Massachusetts’ tort-claims act because Mr. Darragh’s parole officer failed to ensure that he complied with the conditions of his parole and refrained from teaching.

The state appealed that decision on the grounds that it could not be held liable for the negligent acts of its employees, but the supreme court upheld the jury’s decision by a 4 to 3 vote.

Boston school officials settled out of court a separate suit filed against them by the victims of the assault. Lawyers for the boys alleged that the school’s principal had failed to investigate a complaint by a parent that she had seen Mr. Darragh fondling a student in a corridor.

The two boys received a total of $250,000 in damages from both the state and the Boston school district, their lawyers said.

According to state education officials, Massachusetts still has no law requiring criminal-background checks on those applying for teaching positions. However, they added, teachers convicted on child-molestation will most likely lose their state certification.--LJ

A version of this article appeared in the May 11, 1988 edition of Education Week as Massachusetts Held Liable for Abuse of 2 Students

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read