Alleged victim of CT art teacher who sexually exploited students in ’80s suing school board

A man is seeking a jury trial after filing a lawsuit against the Wolcott Board of Education, alleging he was one of more than a dozen boys sexually exploited in the 1980s by former elementary school art teacher Roger Niland.

The lawsuit, filed last February in Waterbury Superior Court by Middlebury-based attorney Matthias Peters-Kroll, contends that the town’s Board of Education was negligent in allowing Niland to take nude photographs of numerous male students both in the art classroom where he taught at Wakelee Elementary School and his apartment.

“We decline to provide a comment on pending litigation,” Superintendent of Wolcott Public Schools Shawn Simpson said Wednesday. “However, the case in question dates back 39 years and has been forwarded to our insurance provider, with legal representation being assigned to handle the matter.”

Peters-Kroll did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.

According to the 15-page lawsuit, filed on behalf of “John Doe,” the plaintiff was a student at Wakelee in the 1980s, during which time he alleges he was sexually molested and exploited by Niland — who was sentenced to one year in prison in 1986 after pleading guilty to 20 counts of risk of injury to a minor, according to Courant archives.

Archives also indicate the former art teacher was also ordered to take Depo-Provera — which has been described by the U.S. Department of Justice as a synthetic progesterone drug that has been found effective in reducing “offensive sexual behavior.”

The lawsuit alleges Niland was given a Polaroid camera by the principal of Wakelee and that school officials knew he would be taking photographs of young boys but never requested to see any of the photos or established any “protocols, rules or guidelines.” It further alleges school officials failed to properly monitor Niland, and that they knew or should have known upon investigating that he was abusing students and “had an avowed interest in sexual precocity in young boys.”

According to the lawsuit, Niland allegedly had students change into “various outfits in the classroom” before photographing them and met with boys after school hours at Wakelee and his apartment, including during evenings and weekends. The lawsuit further alleges that school officials knew or should have known the art teacher was “taking young boys out of their homes” and driving them to his apartment, where he allegedly kept them “for hours at a time.”

Peters-Kroll contends in the suit that the Board of Education failed to properly train school staff on what would constitute appropriate or inappropriate behavior involving children and that the board failed to “initiate and maintain policies that encouraged the reporting of employees or professional staff who behaved suspiciously with young boys.” School staff failed to report “their reasonable suspicions of Niland’s behavior,” the lawsuit further claims.

As a result of the alleged negligence and “breach of special duty owed to a child,” the victim was photographed both in the classroom and at Niland’s apartment with his genitals exposed, the lawsuit states.

The victim contends he “suffered extended sexual abuse, shock emotional distress, anger, confusion, sadness, feeling unsafe, paranoia, nightmares, increased anxiety and shame,” Peters-Kroll wrote. The victim now suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome and alcohol abuse disorder, as the allegations led to him self-medicating with alcohol and drugs as an “avoidant coping mechanism,” according to the lawsuit.

“All of this has necessitated and will necessitate extended psychological treatment and counseling,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit seeks more than $15,000 in “money damages” and other “relief which the court deems fair and equitable.”

According to judicial branch records, a judge earlier this month granted a motion filed by an attorney representing the town of Wolcott seeking a 30-day extension to respond or object to discovery in the case.

Court records show that jury selection in the matter is expected to begin in November.

According to an archived media report, this is not the first time Wolcott has been sued for allegations connected to Niland. A lawsuit filed by an alleged victim against the town in 2012 was later settled, a report showed.