Centerville student alleges 'grooming' by counselor, retaliation from teachers in lawsuit

A Centerville student says she was subjected to months of harassment and "grooming" by a high school guidance counselor, that her school district failed to prevent the abuse and that she was then subjected to bullying and abuse by classmates and even teachers without any protection from administrators.

The minor student is identified as Jane Doe in a Wapello County lawsuit she filed along with her parents against the Centerville Community School District and several administrators and teachers. It alleges sexual assault, emotional distress and defamation and makes constitutional due process and equal protection claims.

The case, first reported by the Ottumwa Courier, centers on alleged misconduct by former counselor Ryan Hodges, who resigned earlier this year amid an investigation by the district.

At the time, the student was taking dual credit nursing classes at the nearby Indian Hills Community College, where her instructor was Hodges' wife. There, too, she says she faced retaliation and was ultimately denied credit for the courses she'd taken, and Indian Hills and its trustees and administrators also are named as defendants in her suit.

Filed Nov. 9, the suit follows another filed earlier this year by the Iowa Freedom of Information Council challenging a close-door School Board meeting regarding Hodges.

The defendants have not yet filed responses in court, and no attorney was listed in court documents for Hodges, who could not be reached for comment. Centerville Superintendent Mark Taylor did not respond to a message seeking comment and Indian Hills President Matthew Thompson declined to comment, citing the litigation.

Months of alleged harassment by school counselor

The complaint alleges that Hodges, then 39, "had an already impressive history of misconduct and harassment of minor girls" that was "open, obvious and infamous" at Centerville High, but he was still entrusted by the district to work with students. The student, then 16, says when she met with him in August 2022 about college admission information, he instead started talking with her about partying and past sexual encounters.

More: Therapist who worked with at-risk youth at Iowa school faces sexual exploitation charges

Hodges allegedly continued summoning the student for inappropriate discussions, including pulling her out of study hall so often her teacher began asking for reasons, the suit says. He also allegedly obtained her cell phone number and used it repeatedly to text her at home between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m.

The student was uncomfortable with Hodges' actions and told her parents, but fearing backlash, did not report him to the school until other students began spreading rumors the two were in a relationship. The suit says that led to widespread bullying and harassment that the school, allegedly, did nothing to stop.

Retaliation from multiple teachers, schools

That bullying didn't just come from other students. The suit accuses one of the girl's teachers, Carrisa Marshall, of calling her a "whore" and "homewrecker" during classes, and of complaining to the principal when she arranged to study in another teacher's classroom instead of attending Marshall's class.

"Throughout this entire process, plaintiffs repeatedly requested that (Centerville) take any steps at all to protect Doe from the ongoing harassment to which she was subject on a daily basis," the complaint says. "Each and every request by plaintiffs was rebuffed by high school staff, who simply asserted that the issue would blow over."

The student allegedly faced additional retaliation at Indian Hills, where Danielle Hodges, her instructor, warned her that she "should probably just withdraw," then began unfairly scoring her classwork lower than that of other classmates, even on objective measures such as multiple-choice tests where she had given the same answers. Indian Hills refused to transfer her to a different instructor, and Danielle Hodges then accused her of cheating on tests, ensuring she would receive no credit for the course, the suit says.

Ryan Hodges, according to the complaint, was placed on leave Nov. 30, 2022, more than a week after administrators finally met with the student's parents. He eventually resigned in February while the district's investigation was pending, and the district refused to share any details with the student's family or the public, or to rebut any of the false rumors being spread against the student.

Asked for comment, the family's attorney, Ben Bergmann, said his firm is "excited to seek justice for our clients."

This article has been updated to correct the subject of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council lawsuit connected to Hodges.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: School district, college sued by Centerville student claiming abuse