Judge awards $1m to Oklahoma boy who had sex with teacher

Posted by Arica Deslauriers on Wednesday, May 22, 2024

An Oklahoma federal judge has ruled that a former middle school teacher who is currently serving a 10-year sentence for having sex with her student will have to pay him $1miilion for causing him emotional distress.

Jennifer Caswell, 31, pleaded guilty to second-degree rape and related charges and was sentenced in 2015 to 15 years in prison, with five of them suspended, for having a half-dozen sexual encounters with a 15-year-old student at Hollis Middle School.

Around the same time, the victim and his father filed a civil lawsuit against Caswell and the Oklahoma school district that had employed her. Two years later, US District Judge Robin Cauthron has ruled in the boy’s favor, awarding the teenager $1million for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

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Jennifer Casewell, 31 She was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2015 for having sex with her student

Seven-figure verdict: A judge has ruled that Jennifer Caswell, 31, a former Oklahoma middle school teacher, will have to pay her former student $1million of repeatedly having sex with him

Caswell was a rookie eighth-grade English teacher at Hollis Middle School in Oklahoma (pictured) when the abuse too place 

Caswell was a rookie eighth-grade English teacher at Hollis Middle School in Oklahoma (pictured) when the abuse too place 

The judge wrote in her opinion that the child 'reported feelings of depression, isolation and self-blame,' and that he felt humiliated after news of his sexual relationship with the teacher spread.

Plaintiff’s attorney Bob Wyatt said his clients were pleased with the outcome of the lawsuit, which they hoped would send a message to teachers and schools across the state that sexual abuse perpetrated by educators will not be tolerated, reported NewsOK.com.

According to the ruling, the victim had gone from being a popular athlete to the subject of mockery in his community, which eventually forced him to enroll in school in a different town, where he has no family and few friends.

‘In this case, a teacher abused her position of trust and authority to sexually violate a young man who will face the emotional effects of the encounter for the rest of his life,’ Cauthron wrote.

Insolvent: Caswell's lawyer says she will spend the next several years in prison and does not have the means to pay the victim

Insolvent: Caswell's lawyer says she will spend the next several years in prison and does not have the means to pay the victim

The opinion went on to say that the victim has been receiving counselling to deal with the trauma of the abuse, and his therapists expect that he will have problems in the future trusting women in general, and female authority figures in particular.

Caswell's defense attorney said his client will spend the next several years behind bars and has no means to pay the $1million judgement, but she is unlikely to appeal the verdict.

Bob Wyatt, the victim’s lawyer, has acknowledged the money is likely ‘uncollectible.’

Last month, Hollis Public Schools agreed to pay the former student $125,000 to settle a separate lawsuit that accused the district of covering up Caswell's sexual abuse. 

The family, whom DailyMail.com is not naming because the boy was a victim of a sex crime, alleged he was told to keep his mouth shut about his relationship with Caswell.

She appeared on the Dr Phil Show in 2015 claiming that she was 'not a rapist' and blamed the 15-year-old boy for making the first move. 

Caswell, who was formerly known by her married name, Saxton, said she was disgraced by her 10-year sentence and said: 'I didn't force anything. I didn't manipulate. I didn't take advantage.'

But Hollis Public Schools agreed to pay the six-figure sum to settle the claims made against them in relation to the illicit relationship. 

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Share Speaking out: In May, Caswell appeared on the Dr Phil Show claiming that she was 'not a rapist'

Speaking out: In May, Caswell appeared on the Dr Phil Show claiming that she was 'not a rapist'

Charles Watts, an attorney for the victim's family, told The Oklahoman in July the figure was $125,000, but school officials refused to speculate on the figure. 

The boy's parents said his life outside of school and his grades suffered as a result of the relationship and that he suffered emotional distress and humiliation when word got out to classmates.

Watts said: 'The truth is that this has a terrible effect on a child.

'You can expect in his future life that he will have a hard time with relationships.'

It was claimed the school allowed Caswell to resign so that she could keep her teaching credentials.  

School attorney Andy Fugitt argued school officials notified police and the local district's attorney's office when Caswell resigned, and said the Oklahoma State Department of Education has the right to revoke a teacher's credentials, not the school district.  

'The school district responded to the information it had — which was very limited — in an appropriate way,' Fugitt told The Oklahoman

In May 2015, Caswell appeared on the Dr Phil Show claiming that she was 'not a rapist' and blamed the 15-year-old boy for making the first move.

'I didn't force anything. I didn't manipulate. I didn't take advantage,' she said at the time.

Harmon County District Judge Richard Darby sentenced Caswell to prison for the six incidents involving sex with the teenager.

The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, totaling 10 years behind bars for the then 29-year-old divorced mother-of-one from Hollis.

'I can’t say that we had ever considered it being that harsh,' Caswell's attorney, David Cummins, told the station NewsOK after the hearing.

Cummins said they had expected a maximum sentence of five years.

Caswell, who had a 6-year-old son, will only become eligible for parole in six and a half years. 

After her release, she will be required to register as a sex offender.

Blaming the victim: Caswell told Dr Phil it was her student's flirting and affection that led to them having sex

Blaming the victim: Caswell told Dr Phil it was her student's flirting and affection that led to them having sex

In the wake of Caswell's sentencing, the young victim's mother said she felt the disgraced teacher's punishment was fair. 

After she resigned in April 2014 with her credentials intact, Caswell had sex with the boy in a vehicle, her house and the boy's father's house, according to prosecutors.

After the woman followed the 15-year-old 650 miles to Mississippi, where he had been sent to stay with his mother, the boy began cooperating with authorities. 

During her appearance on the Dr Phil Show in May, Caswell suggested it was the boy's persistence that led to them having sex in her classroom last April. 

She told Dr Phil: 'He came in, I was working on things, he kept coming closer to me and I would kind of walk away to the other part, you know another room, another areas of the classroom and he just walked up to me and then he kissed me. And then it just kind of went from there.'

Bleak future: After her release, Caswell will be required to register as a sex offender

Bleak future: After her release, Caswell will be required to register as a sex offender

'I was walking around the classroom straightening up the desks and he came and I guess it was standing up,' Caswell said.

The 31-year-old admitted that she did not tell the student to stop what he was doing.

She said: 'I kept on saying, ''No, you know we can’t do this. No, no, no.''.

'He wasn't forcing me, I mean, I could've easily just walked out of my classroom, but I didn't.

'But I was resisting because I knew it was wrong, but I didn't.'

Caswell said that following sex with the student, she felt 'terrified'.

'I just couldn't believe I had done something like that,' she added.

The sexual encounter took place within six weeks of Caswell having her teaching certificate. She was arrested two months later.

Caswell claimed her failing marriage with her now ex-husband, as well as the culture in her small town, all contributed to the unlawful relationship.

She said: 'I felt very unwanted by my husband. I was with him for ten years and I was never complimented. We never held hands or were physical.'

The former English teacher said she was flattered and came to enjoy the attention, flirting and compliments she received from the student.

She told Dr Phil: 'He was very flirty and I should have put a stop to it and I didn't. I wasn't used to the attention.'

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