(WXYZ) – A former teacher at Orchard Lake Schools St. Mary’s Preparatory High School is suing the school for improper completion.
The lawsuit alleges he was fired after reporting an incident in which a student was sexually assaulted by a group of students.
The school says in a statement that they do not believe they have done anything wrong.
That’s exactly why attorney Robert Palmer says his clients, the professor and the student, decided they had to sue.
In 2019, some St. Mary’s Prep allegedly played in the shared showers they called “Naked Bowling” and “Stanky Pretzel,” where one student lies naked in the face of another student.
According to a lawsuit filed by attorney Robert Palmer, his client, a minor at the time of the incident did not like these games.
The junior was the tallest in his class, at the National Honor’s Society, and one of 3 juniors invited to a school retreat with about thirty or more people on demand.
One night at that school shelter, court documents indicate that about eight boys wearing towels entered his room, grabbed him by the arms and legs “trying to undress him and drag him into the hallway simultaneously.”
“And they wanted to drag him to the shower, where they had put soap and water on the floor and intended to throw naked bodies at each other in ‘naked bowls’ with all parts of their anatomy touching pretty big things. says lawyer Robert Palmer.
The day after this incident, the students allegedly joked that they would “take” him that night.
“The companion approached him and said that if you don’t want to participate you can close the door tonight,” says Palmer, who noted that the companions knew what was going on.
That night, according to court documents, the student closed the door and locked it with a chair, and still the students “knocked on the door and tried to enter his room.”
After the retreat, the student told Donald Ambrose, a St. Louis teacher. Mary’s for over 20 years.
Ambrose went to school principal Bob Pyles to report the behavior. Pyles, according to court documents, allegedly said that “the severity of the sexual assault on March 20, 2019 stood at approximately a ‘5’ on a scale of 1 to 10.”
Ambrose then turned to the Rev. Krol, chancellor of Orchard Lake Schools, to report the incident.
9 days later he was fired.
The lawsuit says Ambrose was told he was fired for not responding quickly to emails and for an incident 2 months earlier when he arrested a student for cursing in class, an incident he had not been reprimanded for before. of the day he was fired. claim alleges.
Now Ambrose is suing the School for “illegal retaliation and deliberate indifference.”
The student never returned to school and instead chose home his senior year. The student is also suing the school.
“We don’t want to demolish the school, I’m sure it’s a wonderful school. We want to see a change and we want the school to be responsible, ”says Palmer.
“While it would be inappropriate to comment on the dismissal of any employee, there are multiple false allegations in this lawsuit. We plan to present the truth in court.
In a statement, Stephen Gross, chairman of the Board of Regents of Orchard Lake Schools, says:
While it would be inappropriate to comment on the dismissal of any employee, there are multiple false allegations made in this lawsuit. We plan to present the truth to the courts.
The administration conducted an investigation immediately after learning of these allegations, which was overseen by a member of our board. We are confident that once this information is made public, it will demonstrate that the school has acted in a completely appropriate manner.
The safety of all students is our top priority at Orchard Lake schools. We take any allegation of unsafe or misconduct seriously and do not tolerate any conduct that endangers the health and safety of any student.
Stephen Gross, chairman of the board of regents, Orchard Lake Schools