NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - The parents of a teenage girl who said she was raped by her former gym teacher have filed a lawsuit against the Miami-Dade School Board.
Attorneys for the girl’s family held a news conference in front of the school board building in Miami, Monday afternoon.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of the teen accuses school leaders of not protecting the Brownsville Middle School student from physical education teacher Wendell Nibbs.
The victim’s mother, who was not identified or showed her face on camera, said the school board needs to take accountability.
“Why? Why didn’t they do anything when the allegations were brought to them?” she said.
Nibbs was arrested on Nov. 30, 2017 and charged with two counts of sexual battery on a child 12 years of age or older but less than 18.
Attorneys for the victim said this wasn’t the first complaint against Nibbs, who was 51 at the time of his arrest. His file, they said, reveals years of allegations of sexual misconduct from other students and even a teacher.
“Each and every time one of those allegations was made, the school board did a very cursory and superficial investigation into Wendell Nibbs, absolved him of any wrongdoing and ignored the victims in those cases until our client was raped several years later by that same perpetrator,” said attorney Pedro Echarte.
“We see Nibbs at a predator who used Brownsville Middle School as his hunting ground,” said attorney Aaron A. Karger. “It’s just astounding that he was kept in place for as many years as he was.”
In response to the lawsuit, Miami-Dade School Board spokesperson Jackie Calzadilla released a statement that read in part, “All allegations are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. This individual is no longer employed with our school district. Since there is pending litigation, we cannot provide further comment.”
The teen’s attorneys said they have two other clients preparing to file a lawsuit against the school board.
One of these teens’ mothers said her daughter was sexually assaulted and harassed by Nibbs when she was 15.
“It was heartbreaking. It was devastating,” she said. “Justice has to be done. Some which way or another, it has to be done.”
The attorneys are planning to file at least one additional lawsuit later in January.
“I want justice, not only for my daughter, but for every other victim that he preyed on,” said the mother of the teen from the lawsuit filed Monday. “That is my thing: justice.”
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