Perry district sued again in federal court over abuse
PERRY — School district officials here are accused in a new federal lawsuit of shielding a sexual predator and branding children as liars when they accused an ex-teacher’s aide of molestation.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Oklahoma City by the parents of a girl molested by aide Arnold Cowen. It accuses Perry Public Schools of hiding abuse by Cowen from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, police and parents.
Cowen, 87, pleaded guilty in February to molesting 10 girls at Upper Elementary School in 2016 and 2017 and is serving a 10-year prison sentence.
He also is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, the second brought against the school district in federal court.
“Because of the school district’s lack of response to the allegations of Cowen’s misconduct, Cowen was allowed to remain on campus,” the lawsuit states. “While on campus, Cowen continued to victimize students at the school district into January 2017.”
In January 2017, “upon receiving written notice of Cowen’s misconduct, the school district chose to not take immediate corrective action.”
The lawsuit accuses Perry school officials of failing to provide a safe learning environment for students and “an environment free of sexual predators” by not limiting his access to children.
One of those officials, the school’s ex-principal, was put on five years probation in March for failing to report the misconduct.
Kenda Miller, 51, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of failure to promptly report child abuse or neglect after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors. She resigned in June 2017.
In April, former math teacher Jeffrey Sullins was put on five years probation for failing to report the misconduct. Sullins, 52, also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of failure to promptly report child abuse or neglect after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors. He resigned in June 2017.
In a police interview, Miller characterized Cowen “to be of great moral character.” Sullins, meanwhile, told investigators that he didn’t report the accusations because believed the girls were lying. He said at the time that Cowen was a “model instructor.”
“The school district chose not to believe (plaintiff) and other victims of abuse,” the lawsuit states. “The school district blamed the victims of the abuse.”
The lawsuit, meanwhile, alleges that former Superintendent Scott Chenoweth “chose not to report Cowen’s misconduct” to police, DHS or parents.
It also alleges that Paula Gottschalk, the school’s previous counselor, “told (plaintiff) to be quiet and not tell anyone” after the plaintiff reported being “assaulted and molested” by Cowen.
“The school district’s acts and omissions rose to the level of deliberate indifference,” the lawsuit states. “This resulted in the constitutional rights of (plaintiff) being violated.”
Neither Chenoweth, who resigned, nor Gottschalk, who is listed in the district’s personnel directory, have been charged with a crime.
In December, the parents of 15 girls who said they were molested by Cowen sued Perry school officials for damages in federal court.
That lawsuit accuses Perry Public Schools and the Board of Education of showing “deliberate indifference” by failing to remove or report Cowen after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
In court papers, the school district stated that it “did not act deliberately indifferent to the allegations involving Mr. Cowen and the minor plaintiffs,” further stating that the school district “took corrective measures upon learning of the inappropriate conduct by Cowen.”