Lawsuit: Cape failed to do anything about harassment

A lawsuit filed Jan. 23 against Cape Henlopen School District, its superintendent, school board, former and current principals of Cape High, and a former employee states officials knew about inappropriate behavior by a staff member but did nothing to stop it.

As a result, Virginia Collins, mother of two girls – one a Cape High grad and the other a current student at Cape High – said both her daughters were subject to harassment by the male employee. The lawsuit filed in Sussex County Superior Court by Collins, as guardian of her younger daughter, and her adult daughter demands a jury trial and compensation, punitive damages and attorney's fees for nine counts including assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence and fraud.

The 16-page lawsuit provides a timeline of incidents dating back to 2011 when, the lawsuit states, a student complained to the Cape Henlopen Board of Education that Cape High Theater technical director Derek Dutton called the student a derogatory term.

In 2014, the lawsuit lists several complaints against Dutton, beginning with one by a 20-year-old theater intern who told Principal Brian Donahue that Dutton made an inappropriate comment to her. “Donahue scoffed and rolled his eyes at the female intern,” the lawsuit states.

About the same time, Cape High Theater Director Martha Pfeiffer told Superintendent Robert Fulton that Dutton “had anger issues and was scary.” The lawsuit states Fulton told Pfeiffer he heard that Dutton had anger issues. The lawsuit states Fulton and the school board also knew about a Jewish slur Dutton had made to a student.

In 2015, the lawsuit states, Dutton made an inappropriate comment to a theater student and a month later threw a power drill, which almost hit a student's head. Collins' daughter and several other theater students reported this to a vice principal, but Dutton returned to the theater that morning, the lawsuit states.

Two days later, the suit states, Dutton made unlawful sexual contact with Collins' daughter. “It caused [the daughter] to feel unsafe, and she went to her car and cried,” the suit states.

From then on, the lawsuit outlines a series of meetings between Collins, her husband, and daughter and Nikki Miller, who was assistant principal at the time and is now principal. Meetings were also held with Donahue, who was principal at the time, and Fulton.

“[Fulton] assured them that he was in the process of investigating, and that Derek Dutton would not be allowed on campus while students were present,” the lawsuit states.

About six months later, however, the suit states Dutton was again working in the high school theater, and the Collins family had encountered him on separate occasions. Fulton again told the family that Dutton would not be allowed at Cape High while students were present.

By 2017, the lawsuit states, Dutton was back working in the theater with students present; Collins' youngest daughter was a junior who told the theater teacher that she felt uncomfortable with Dutton around. Collins also spoke with Miller and told her that her daughter would withdraw from the theater program “because she no longer felt safe,” the lawsuit states.

Collins also spoke with school resource officer Master Cpl. Tim Wolansky who said there were no school records of the initial complaints against Dutton, the lawsuit states.

Not only did the school fail to record the complaints, the lawsuit states, that defendants also violated state law when they took no action to investigate the complaints or file a sexual abuse report with Child Protective Services or the Delaware State Police.

“As a result of sexual harassment and assault [the daughters] were deprived of access to the educational opportunities and benefits at Cape Henlopen School District, and suffered physical and emotional pain and suffering, distress, humiliation, anxiety, and other personal injuries,” the lawsuit states.

Fulton could not be reached for comment.