Mother of alleged sexual abuse victim sues S-O school district

OCHEYEDAN, Iowa - The mother of an alleged victim of sexual abuse has filed a lawsuit against the Sibley-Ocheyedan Community School District (SOCSD) for negligence.

The victim, a 10-year-old boy, was found in a classroom Oct. 3, 2015 sleeping with then-SOCSD teacher and football head coach Kyle Ewinger on a blow-up mattress. After further investigation, a bottle of KY lubricant jelly as well as Viagra prescription pills and Vaseline lotion were found in the classroom.

Ewinger was fired by the school district  one month later.  

The criminal complaint filed against Ewinger March 22 states that Ewinger “had performed a sex act on him the night they stayed in school.” Ewinger is now facing a felony count of second-degree sexual assault.

The lawsuit against the school was filed April 27 in Osceola County District Court.

The mother of the alleged victim, identified only as J.A in the file, is alleging that the school district failed to prevent the victim from being sexually assaulted or provide a safe environment for students. The file mentioned the lack of action of school employees after witnessing questionable actions by Ewinger. The complaint said that a teacher saw the victim sitting on Ewinger’s lap in a classroom and also observed a “hickey” on the victim’s neck, and subsequently failed to report those observations.

The mother is requesting a jury trial for all the claims.

The lawsuit also states that Ewinger has engaged in similar behavior in previous school districts. Prior to coming to SOCSD, the suit notes, Ewinger had an incident with a 9-year-old student at Riverside Elementary School in Sioux City, Iowa in April 2010. Ewinger gave the boy a pill for him to fall asleep, and Ewinger would then   lay with the boy.

In addition, the lawsuit notes that Ewinger was suspended and his contract as a teacher bought out in Mediapolis Community School District in Mediapolis, Iowa for engaging in inappropriate actions with a student.

Ewinger is facing a charge of first-degree sexual assault of a child in Douglas County, Nebraska.

The criminal complaint in the Sibley-Ocheyedan case states that the school district was negligent in hiring Ewinger because it should have known about his previous incidents. The complaint said “ … that through the negligent hiring of Ewinger his unfitness and dangerous characteristic proximately caused C.A’s (the victim) and J.A’ s resulting injuries.”

The boy’s mother is seeking unspecified damages from the district for physical and emotional pain as well as medical expenses.