–The family of a Humboldt Middle School student who was sexually exploited by a former teacher have filed a lawsuit against the district claiming administrators failed to act when learning of the situation.
32-year-old Samantha Meyer-Davis was sentenced last week to 20 years in Federal prison after pleading guilty to sexually exploiting a former student between May of 2022 and November of 2023.
The lawsuit, which was filed on October 7th, accuses the school district and Superintendent Jim Murrary of negligence, negligent supervision and retention, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and loss of parental consortium.
In the suit, the plaintiffs allege the district and administrators learned of the abuse in the fall of 2022 but did not open a formal investigation. The suit claims that Murray instructed staff not to open a formal investigation and instead asked staff members to speak to Meyer-Davis and instruct her to stop communicating with the student. The plaintiffs also claim that they were not notified of the abuse at the time the district began looking into the allegations.
In September of 2023, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation became involved by interviewing the student about Meyer-Davis. A search of the student’s cell phone found evidence of sexual exploitation. That was followed by searches of both the student’s home and the Meyer-Davis home.
The lawsuit claims the district took no corrective action against Meyer-Davis between September of 2022 and when law enforcement executed their search warrants in November of 2023. The plaintiffs are asking for a jury trial in the case and seeking unspecified damages.
