Former teacher sues St. Andrew’s for defamation

A former teacher accused of getting too close with students at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton says he did nothing wrong, and is now suing the school for defamation.

Christopher Waite, 41, was at the center of a St. Andrew’s commissioned investigation that concluded the school wasn’t doing enough to protect students from possible sexual abuse.

An investigation conducted by the Boca Raton Police Department found no evidence of abuse. But a report commissioned by the private school says Waite put students at risk by “engaging in unchaste” behavior with them, according to his lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

Simple hugs were characterized in the school report as romantic embraces, and his decision to allow a student recovering from surgery to stay on his couch was portrayed as “secret sleepovers,” he told the Sun Sentinel in a phone interview with his lawyer.

It’s the first time he has spoken publicly about the allegations made against him in the report.

“They horrifically misrepresented my time at St. Andrew’s,” Waite said.

The publicity he received caused Waite, who was fired from the school in October 2015, to lose more jobs and has threatened his future employment, the suit says. Waite still lives in South Florida and still has a valid teaching license. But he said the negative attention he received from the report makes it tough for him to get any job.

A spokesman for St. Andrew’s said the school does not comment on pending litigation.

Waite was hired in 2011 by St. Andrew’s, where he worked as a music teacher and a “dorm parent” who lived on campus

alongside residential students.

His relationship with certain students, as well as lax procedures at the school as it relates to reporting potential sexual abuse, became the subject of a scathing report commissioned by the school’s Board of Trustees. The report or incidents involving Waite prompted the firings or resignations of the former headmaster and several other top administrators.

The police investigation resulted in no charges against Waite. The Department of Children and Families also reviewed the matter and determined there was insufficient evidence to take action.

But the St. Andrew’s report, prepared by a New England law firm, described several questionable actions. The report didn’t identify him, but his name became public through a police report, which was obtained by the news media.

One allegation from the report is that he drove a student off campus to the beach after midnight. According to Waite, he took two students to dinner to celebrate their graduation, and they took a brief trip to the beach afterward. He said he properly signed them out and then back in again at the school, bringing them back before their curfew, which was about midnight.

A second allegation is he was seen “after 10 p.m. in a private embrace” with a student.

“We all embraced students. It’s called hugs,” Waite said, saying he never hugged students inappropriately.

The report accused Waite of allowing a student to sleep over on four separate nights at his place. Waite said students occasionally slept on his couch if there were extenuating circumstances, such as when they were ill or their room wasn’t ready at the beginning of the school year. In this case, the student was recovering from surgery, he said.

The report alleges that he allowed the student to sleep over for two nights after being told by administrators not to do that. Waite denies he continued the practice after being warned, but declined to elaborate, saying it was part of his legal case.

Since Waite was fired, the school has banned the practice of students staying overnight in a faulty member’s apartment, as well as taken other steps to improve its reporting procedures for allegations of abuse.

The report questioned several letters Waite wrote to students. One said, “You are like my own, please know that my dearest moments in the future we are hugs hello and some of my saddest will be like hugs goodbye.” Another said, “there is no one who will replace you.”

Waite acknowledged writing the letters but said there were no romantic or inappropriate overtones to them. His lawyer, Lindsey Wagner, described him as a mentor to the students whose families lived far away.

“These students are living away from their parents. Mr. Waite and other faculty members were more than just teachers, but provided mentorship and guidance to them,” she said. “St. Andrew’s is a different kind of school than a public school.”

Asked whether he understood why people felt his actions may be inappropriate, he replied, “I understand when there has been such a mischaracterization. I did not do anything to endanger any student whatsoever.”