BOISE, Idaho — The Boise School District is being accused of mishandling reports of abuse involving an underage student and staff at Fairmont Junior High.
In a federal lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of the parents of a minor student, the Boise School District, Fairmont Junior High School, and the principal at the time, Christopher Ryan, are accused of failing to report concerns of abuse to authorities.
The lawsuit points to the now-deceased school social worker Scott Crandell, accusing him of “predatory sexually abusive acts towards students” while working as an employee on campus, including “grooming and solicitation with the intent to sexually abuse [their daughter] and others.”
Court documents state Crandell died by suicide in December after Boise Police began investigating a tip to Crimestoppers expressing concerns of an inappropriate relationship between Crandell and a different underage student.
In public court documents obtained by Idaho News 6, the victim’s parents, who filed the latest lawsuit, say it was only after police began investigating that they learned their teenage daughter was regularly pulled out of class to visit with the social worker for “nap time” in his office with the door shut and blinds closed.
Documents say the student’s teachers and even substitute teachers knew this was going on and reported it to Principal Ryan. Ryan has been on paid administrative leave with the Boise School District since May.
The lawsuit also alleges Crandell contacted the student via text messages, phone calls, and Snapchat when the student was 14 to 15 years old.
Boise School District policy prohibits soliciting, encouraging, or consummating a romantic or inappropriate relationship with a student and the Code of Ethics prohibits inappropriate contact with students regardless of age using electronic media.
The new lawsuit states the minor’s parents not only learned that their child was “groomed” by the school’s social worker but that “reports of the misconduct had been raised but neither communicated to the [parents] or reported/investigated by Principal Ryan or other administrators at the school.”
Boise School District policy indicates all district staff are required to report concerns of child abuse within 24 hours, and “the building administrator or program supervisor shall be notified as soon as possible.” From there, any “formal investigations” shall be conducted by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare or local law enforcement.
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The lawsuit repeatedly alleges that teachers and staff reported inappropriate conduct by Crandell to Christopher Ryan in his role as principal and claims Ryan “did nothing to properly investigate Crandell or his conduct towards female students,” did not remove him from the school, and did not “take appropriate steps to assure that Crandell had no contact with [the victim].”
The plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial.
The Boise School District replied to Idaho News 6 with the following statement when reached for comment:
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the public for their understanding and support in recognizing that we are unable to comment on pending litigation. We want our community to know that we take any such claims very seriously and want to make it clear that we are committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all of our students. To that end, we take any and all allegations seriously and we are committed to ensuring that all students feel safe and supported throughout the reporting process. We have a thorough and comprehensive reporting procedure that we follow, and we encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed inappropriate behavior to report it to our administration or to law enforcement immediately. Our district remains dedicated to upholding high standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability. By working together, we create a safe and supportive community for all students.
We’ve also reached out to Christopher Ryan for comment on this story and have not heard back.
