HOUSTON – A female alumnus of the Katy Independent School District alleges that she was in an improper relationship with a former teacher which left her traumatized, according to a lawsuit filed on April 6 in Houston federal court.
The unidentified plaintiff is suing KISD; the teacher, Robert Evan Milton; former KISD superintendent Alton Frailey, current superintendent Lance Hindt; Katy High School principal Rick Hull; and former Mayde Creek High School principal Obra “O.D.” Thompkins, Jr. in connection with the subject event.
Court papers state that the 20-year-old complainant attended KHS from 2011 to 2015. She reportedly met Milton as a member of the National Art Honor Society chapter of which he sponsored.
The suit claims Milton, who was born in 1974 and taught at both MCHS and KHS, made inappropriate advances toward Jane Doe during her freshman, sophomore, and junior years, further purporting that he coerced her into a romantic and sexual relationship when she was a senior.
Per Doe, it was not until she was already in college outside of Texas when she realized that Milton had manipulated her. She subsequently broke up with Milton, informed her parents about the aforementioned relationship, and entered counseling, the complaint says.
Doe’s parents reported what their daughter told them to KHS administrators. An investigation of Milton’s conduct determined that he engaged in other inappropriate relationships with at least two female students.
The suit accuses KISD of not disciplining Milton, as well as helping him conceal his supposed transgressions by transferring him from MCHS to KHS.
Milton was later arrested and charged with having an improper relationship with a student, a felony. He resigned from the school district afterwards.
“The damage caused by the defendants’ extreme and outrageous conduct will be lifelong,” the suit says. “Doe has been forever harmed by the actions of defendants who intentionally, willfully, and recklessly placed her well-being into harm’s way.”
Consequently, the complainant seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
She is represented by attorney Joshua A. Verde of The Verde Law Firm, PLLC in Houston
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:17-CV-1060