Maine high school student, 19, says principal sent her 5,000 sexually explicit texts and tried to groom her
WALDOBORO, MAINE: A man who served as the principal of a Maine high school is being sued by one of his former students, who has alleged that he bought her a car to groom her, asked her to move in with him, and sent her sexually explicit text messages.
Andrew Cavanaugh, the former principal of Medomak Valley High School Regional School Unit 40, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Portland by the student, now 19-years-old, according to Bangor Daily News.
Cavanaugh had resigned from his post in December 2017, shortly after the authorities had opened an investigation into whether there was an inappropriate relationship going on between a student and a staff member at the school.
While the Knox County Sheriff's Office eventually concluded no crime had occurred, the victim stated in her lawsuit that Cavanaugh had started to "pay special attention" to her beginning from when she was 16.
She said he made sexually-charged comments about her looks and clothing and purchased personal hygiene products for her and gave them to her, all in front of other students and staff. On another occasion, he is said to have advised her to go on birth control.
The lawsuit states that between April and November 2017, Cavanaugh and the victim exchanged about 5,000 text messages, many of which were the principal inquiring about her relationship status and sexual activity.
One message sent by Cavanaugh allegedly read, "It would be [hard] for you to not look sexy, but I get the point. Send me a picture and I will tell you straight up how you look."
In two others, Cavanaugh wrote, "I might have to give you a spanking" and "I bet if I slapped you a couple of times you would be mine forever!"
Cavanaugh reportedly also invited her to live with him, left her gifts, and then bought her a car before texting her "she could work for him to pay it off" and "Don't worry cupcake, I won't sell you into white slavery."
The victim has also named Chuck Nguyen, a social worker at the high school, as a defendant. While social workers are required to report allegations of abuse to the authorities, she claimed that when she took her concerns to him, he told her the principal's actions were not inappropriate and that he was trying to be a "father figure."
The lawsuit states that Cavanaugh's actions were "extreme, outrageous, beyond the bounds of decency and utterly intolerable in a civilized society" and that the victim has been diagnosed with adjustment disorder, social anxiety and worsened depression “as a direct result of the emotionally traumatic relationship" with him.
It is asking for unspecified damages and the coverage of her legal costs.