Lawsuit claims Montrose school officials ignored evidence of sexual abuse

BY TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER
Times-Shamrock Writer

A woman who accused a former Montrose Area School District teacher of sexually abusing her as a teenager has filed a lawsuit against the teacher, former high school Principal James Tallarico and others.

The suit, filed this week in Lackawanna County Court, alleges Mr. Tallarico and other school officials knew the girl, then 14, was involved in a romantic relationship with teacher Jeffrey D. Norris in 2007, but they failed to take action to protect her or report it to police.

Mr. Norris was charged with statutory sexual assault and other offenses in February 2009 after the female student alleged she had sex with him several times. A Susquehanna County jury acquitted him of the sexual assault charges in October 2012 but found him guilty of charges he illegally taped conversations with district officials.

Jason Beardsley, Mr. Norris’ attorney, vehemently denied the claims in the civil lawsuit, saying his client has been “run through the wringer” by false allegations the teen has made against him. Mr. Norris was suspended after the charges were filed and never got his job back, despite his acquittal, he said.

“His position from the beginning is he was innocent of the allegations she made,” Mr. Beardsley said. “He looks forward to the opportunity to show that.”

Benjamin Andreozzi of Harrisburg, one of the woman’s attorneys, said the fact that Mr. Norris was acquitted of the sexual assault charges in the criminal case does not mean the acts did not occur.

“We think the overwhelming evidence establishes he did in fact do these terrible things,” Mr. Andreozzi said.

The suit largely mirrors allegations that were filed against Mr. Norris in the criminal case, except it lays blame for some of the trauma the student says she suffered on Mr. Tallarico.

The lawsuit was filed one day after Mr. Tallarico was arraigned on charges he stole nearly $12,000 from the Mid Valley School District, where he was employed as superintendent after he left his position as principal in Montrose.

Attempts to reach Mr. Tallerico’s attorney in the theft case, Gerard Karam, for comment regarding the lawsuit were unsuccessful.

According to the lawsuit, two teachers overheard the student and Mr. Norris have a heated argument at school in spring 2007. The girl told the teachers she and Mr. Norris had a sexual relationship.

The teachers said they told Mr. Tallarico of the allegations, but he advised them he did not believe the girl, who he said was a “loudmouth and troublemaker” who “just wanted to get out of the high school.”

The suit claims Mr. Tallarico and other district officials failed to report the allegations to police, child welfare agencies or the student’s parents because they were concerned about the district’s reputation. The lawsuit names as defendants Mr. Norris, Mr. Tallarico and the school district.

Carol Boyce, current superintendent at Montrose Area, referred comment to the district’s solicitors, the law firm of Sweet, Stevens, Katz and Williams in Pittston. Attempts to reach an attorney from the firm for comment Friday were unsuccessful.