Lawsuit against NHCS reveals new rape allegations in Michael Kelly case

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Attorneys representing the victims of former New Hanover County Schools teacher Michael Kelly have filed a motion to amend their complaint against New Hanover County Schools on Wednesday.

The amended complaint includes new allegations against Michael Kelly, the former New Hanover County Schools teacher that pleaded guilty to multiple counts of indecent liberties with a child, indecent liberties with a student, and second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor in June of 2019.

John Doe 13 is now claiming false imprisonment.

The claim reads, “On at least two occasions between 2008 and 2011, Defendant KELLY provided JOHN DOE 13 beverages containing some form of a liquid substance similar to a ‘date rape drug.’ At the time, JOHN DOE 13 was not aware that KELLY had spiked his beverages.”

According to the claim, this first happened at Kelly’s home. While Kelly was driving the student home, Kelly stopped at his home on the way and none of his family members were home. Kelly turned on the TV, showed the boy pornography, and gave him an alcoholic drink. After drinking the beverage, the student became sluggish and could not move. Kelly then raped the boy.

On another occasion, the claim says while Kelly was employed with NHCS and acting as the student’s chemistry teacher, he offered to help the student with a science project. Kelly suggested using a chemistry lab on UNCW’s campus. He designed an experiment that observes different orange juice concentrates. While Kelly prepared the concentrations, the student recorded his observations. The student sampled the mixtures Kelly had prepared, began to feel weak, and lost the ability to move. The student leaned on a nearby table because he was unable to stand. While the boy was impaired, Kelly then raped him. Due to the state he was in, the student was not able to fend off Kelly. The student was so impaired, Kelly had to help him walk out of the building and to Kelly’s vehicle.

The claim says as a result of Kelly’s actions, John Doe 13 suffered and continues to suffer an “unimaginable and devastating amount of physical and emotional pain.” As a result, it says John Doe 13 is entitled to more than $25,000 in damages.

Additionally, the amendment states the Board violated the students’ fundamental rights to a sound basic education under the North Carolina Constitution.

The motion was based upon a recent state Supreme Court ruling in Deminski v. State Board of Education, which found that prolonged verbal, physical, and even sexual abuse can deny students their constitutional rights to quality education.

“In the Kelly case, the abuse endured over 20 years,” said Martin Ramey, an attorney from the Rhine Law Firm, representing the Plaintiffs. “As a result of the abuse and this Board’s burying its head in the sand, some of these gentlemen dropped out of school, failed to complete their educations, and are struggling to make ends meet.”

“What’s also unique about this challenge is that the claims are not barred by governmental immunity,” adds Mary Charles Amerson, another attorney with The Lea/Schultz Law Firm. “Governmental or sovereign immunity is often asserted by governmental entities to avoid paying judgments. There are exceptions – such as when an insurer provides insurance coverage, but the immunity remains in effect for anything above the limit of that insurance,” she adds.

The two attorneys say that Liberty Mutual, the insurer for the school board, has now twice in writing reserved all of its rights to completely deny coverage to the victims of Kelly’s assault.

“This is true even though the Board paid handsome premiums for many years to Liberty to actually cover such losses,” adds Ramey. “If this were automotive insurance, I’d be asking for my premiums back.”

“It really is a shame that an insurer can essentially derail what is in the best interests of an entire community for its own financial self-good,” says Amerson.

At the same time, she adds that the Plaintiffs are not just seeking monetary damages to help them pay for therapy and medications, but that they also want changes to the way that New Hanover County Schools handle such complaints.

She adds that although they have been silent, the group met this past week in private to discuss ways that the school board could help bring about change. They have shared these ideas with the district and have also included them as relief in the proposed complaint that they would like to see the Court grant in the event they are successful at trial.

Specifically, they are asking that the Board:
• Establish a Resource Center committed to reducing sexual harassment and sexual abuse
in schools. The Center would provide training and tools for parents, students and
teachers/staff to recognize signs of grooming/abuse, provide annual compliance
updates/refreshers regarding district training, promote awareness campaigns, and to
conduct onboarding training for all employees and volunteers;
• Form a Student Advisory Committee to the school board to assist in bringing attention
to school issues, to allow for transparency and for real-time communication of
concerns;
• Authorize a special master or monitor to conduct competency reviews of staff and
administration, especially for those charged with ensuring Title IX compliance, those
charged with receiving complaints of sexual harassment and assault and other similarly
responsible persons;
• Require sexual abuse and harassment training annually for all staff, students, and
parents such as offered by Praesidium or other similar providers;
• Require annual training of all board members on sexual abuse and harassment;
• Require ongoing commitments from the school board to overhaul its policies and
monitoring, as needed;
• Authorize the special master to verify compliance with all aspects of the New Hanover
County Board of Education’s policies via surveys, interviews, etc.;
• Conduct student culture and climate surveys to understand changes in awareness and
understanding of health organizations;
• Authorize the special master to recommend and implement changes in athletic supervision and practices;
• Require annual review of the use of social media and technology by employees and
students;
• Reevaluate document retention policies for all personnel matters so that documentation
of investigations and complaints are not discarded;
• Require periodic audits of such files by the monitor or other third party to ensure that
documents are not removed from personnel and employee files;
• And other such relief as may be needed.
The proposed complaint also lays out a claim for false imprisonment for John Doe 13, who
was drugged and raped by Kelly at Kelly’s home as well as at UNCW.

The attorneys asked that the following resources be shared.

• Coastal Horizons’ Rape Crisis Center, tel.: (910) 392-7460, 615 Shipyard Blvd.,
  Wilmington, NC 28412. Serving New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender Counties, the Rape
  Crisis Center staff, interns, and volunteers provide free and confidential services to all
  victims of sexual violence in our community including:
  o 24-hour crisis response to victims via the hotline and in person at hospital
  emergency rooms.
  o Criminal justice advocacy for sexual assault victims, offering support through law
  enforcement interviews, meetings with the district attorney’s office, and throughout
  the duration of any criminal or civil court proceeding.
  o Free individual therapy and weekly support groups for sexual violence survivors
  who would not otherwise have access to these services due to barriers such as being
  uninsured or having a high co-pay.
  o Assistance with filing protective orders and Crime Victim’s Compensation.
• National Sexual Assault Hotline, tel.: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). This group connects
  victims of sexual assaults to sexual assault service providers in their community.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, tel. : 1-800-273-8255. This group provides 24/7,
  free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention, and crisis resources.