A Toronto private school was sued over a student’s alleged sexual assault. The school’s name was kept secret until now.
Tallis Bay School was sued by the Toronto Star for $100,000 this past March, after a student’s claims that the school failed to protect him from sexual assault. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) claimed that the case was “preceded by an extensive investigation.” TDSB also stated that the school was “compliant in all respects” and that its response to the complaint was “satisfactory.”
What remains unclear is whether the TDSB’s investigation began when the student went to speak with the school’s headmaster. For two months, the student was unable to reach anyone at the school after making initial complaints. The school also did not hand the alleged rapist over to authorities for investigation for the duration of the student’s complaint.
However, this did not stop the school from defending itself. In a statement issued by the school, headmaster William Furlong revealed that he had been accused of sexual assault and subsequently brought to justice when a man came forward with evidence against Furlong.
Furlong further revealed that the students who filed complaints against him were punished, that one was expelled, and that three were told to attend counselling. It also turns out that the student’s mother had sought an injunction on the school following an accusation that the school was discriminating against her son – even though the student had been the victim of sexual assault.
A second lawsuit was filed by student Adam Everson in early October. In his suit, he accuses the school of being “unresponsive” and a “cruel and unethical” institution, that they failed to protect him, and that he was “subject to harassment.”
The lawsuit also claims that the school’s investigation was “anemic,” that the school’s response to his complaint was inadequate, and that the school did not take any appropriate action to protect him from sexual assault. The suit states that he filed his complaint when he was “a young child walking through the halls of Tallis Bay” but was told they would not help.
The school is said to have engaged in a variety of tactics to keep him quiet – including threatening to withdraw his grade