Alleged abuse victim wants ‘voice to be heard’

SHELTON — As the criminal case against his alleged abuser nears a possible end, a 28-year-old man who claims he was sexually assaulted as a teenager said he hopes his civil lawsuit can move forward.

“With the criminal case now behind me, I feel like I have a new focus,” the man told Hearst Connecticut Media.

The victim, known only as “John Doe” in his twocount complaint against the Shelton public schools and Board of Education, told Hearst that the civil suit is a chance for his “voice to be heard” on the alleged assaults that have left him struggling emotionally to this day.

Doe, who alleged he was sexually assaulted as a teen by a former Shelton teacher of the year, said the school district’s negligence contributed to that abuse, according to a lawsuit filed in 2018 in state Superior Court in Milford.

David Munson, 77, was arrested in 2018 on charges of first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. The former educator has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The court records for the criminal case have been sealed but the online docket indicates that the case is “awaiting disposition.” According to a recent filing in the civil action court document, “the court accepted an Accelerated

Rehabilitation (AR) application in the criminal matter (involving Munson).”

Under AR, for certain crimes a defendant can seek to avoid a trial and conviction. A judge must rule the defendant is not a threat to commit future crimes and that the crime with which he or she is charged is not serious. A defendant approved for the program, which can last up to two years, must comply with all its requirements. If the defendant does so, the charge is dismissed.

Munson’s attorney declined to comment on the suit, the criminal case against Munson or the request for AR. State’s Attorney Margaret Kelly told Hearst she does not comment on pending cases.

Doe said he was asked by prosecutors if he supported Munson’s request for AR. He said he told them he had no objections.

While the criminal case was ongoing, Doe and his lawyer, Jeff Herman of Herman Law, were focused on that, he said. But now, Doe said, they can move forward with the civil suit against the school district. On Wednesday, Herman filed a motion requesting the criminal investigation file materials in order to further the civil suit.

“I have a real motivation for this portion of the case,” said Doe, who lives in New Haven. “Where I was willing to reach a compromise (in the criminal case), I don’t feel that way with this case.”

Shelton Board of Education Chairwoman Kathy Yolish declined to comment on the suit.

“This is my chance to use my voice … to stand up for myself,” said Doe, who has remained unnamed through the process because of, the suit says, the intimate details involved and increased psychological injury if his name were exposed.

“All (Doe) can do is sue for monetary damages, but this really is about taking power back in his life,” said Herman, his attorney. “No amount of money can take away what happened. (Doe), like all my clients, wants a measure of justice. It is an important milestone in their healing.”

The suit — which charges negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress — asks for unspecified monetary damages, attorney’s fees, unspecified punitive damages and “any other relief in law or equity that may appertain.”

The suit states that Munson allegedly sexually assaulted Doe between September 2005 and August 2007, but the charges did not come to light until October 2017 .

When Doe was 25, he said he complained anonymously to the Rape Crisis Center of Milford that he had been sexually assaulted in Shelton years before.

According to the suit, Doe was a 13-year-old student at Shelton Intermediate School. He became nonverbal and began experiencing emotional and behavioral issues after learning his mother had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the suit states.

The school, to help Doe cope, assigned him a retired teacher as a mentor: Munson. Doe met Munson weekly, according to the suit.

According to the suit, Doe told police that Munson, in September 2005, took him on a walk in the woods near the school and allegedly molested him.

Doe told Hearst Connecticut Media that Munson molested him 18 times, until he stopped going to school altogether and was admitted to a psychiatric ward in 2007, where he was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia and anxiety.

Doe said the sexual abuse led to years of therapy and anger toward Munson, as well as an inability to form positive relationships in his life. He said that through therapy, he began to understand that releasing that anger toward his alleged abuser was the first step in his recovery.

That, according to Doe, led him to agree, when asked by prosecutors, to support Munson’s request for accelerated rehabilitation.

“That was all part of the road to my healing,” Doe said. “I believe that I can effect change, and I would love to see changes happen at an institutional level. I went two years without speaking. … I had no level of support. No child should have to endure what I had to endure.”

The civil suit states that thenSIS headmaster Rudolph Cassetti spoke with Doe privately about Munson during the time of the alleged abuse and asked if there had been any inappropriate touching during their walks. The suit states that Doe told Cassetti that Munson had touched him in his genital area.

“Despite the report,” the suit states, “no corrective action was taken.”

Interim Superintendent Beth Smith declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Doe’s attorney called the district’s alleged actions “disturbing.” Doe informed the proper authority yet, Herman alleged, nothing was done to prevent future contact between Munson and his client.

“The victim tried to tell, allegedly talked to the principal, something he should have done,” said Herman, who said he has represented thousands of victims of childhood sexual abuse cases over the years. “This could have stopped, but nothing was done. This just compounded the egregiousness of this situation.”

“The (school district) should be held responsible for what I had to endure,” Doe said. “That’s what I am fighting for now.”