Former Keller ISD student who was stalked, harassed by teacher suing district
KELLER, Texas - A former Keller ISD student and her family are suing the district over a teacher who is now a convicted sex offender.
The family's lawyer said school leaders need to be held accountable too.
The student, identified as ‘jane doe,’ seeks unspecified damages in the case against Keller ISD.
The former Timber Creek High School student graduated earlier this year.
In February, former teacher and track coach Rickey Badley was convicted of stalking and harassing her and her family when the girl was 16, along with possession of child pornography.
He’s now serving a 10-year federal prison sentence.
"This man has been put in federal prison now, he’s been punished through the criminal system, but what the Title IX civil lawsuit says, it also holds accountable the institution, the school, and the decision makers, adults who failed in ways that allow this to continue," attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel said.
The federal suit was filed Wednesday morning in the Northern District of Texas Court in Fort Worth.
It spells out how, beginning in 2019, the plaintiff endured Badley’s fixation with her and unwanted advances, including more than 600 text messages, letters, and occurrences where he appeared at events and her home.
[REPORTER: "Can you tell me how your client is doing now and how she’s been affected by it all?]
"I mean she has struggled," Tuegel said. "This young woman has dealt with depression and anxiety."
In a statement through her attorney, she writes: "I guess a lot of people grow up thinking high school was a great time, but I feel like my memories of high school are always going to be about being in this gross situation, and I just feeling like I didn’t know what to do to make it stop."
The lawsuit alleges Keller ISD violated the student’s constitutional rights when, after having knowledge of a law enforcement investigation and other evidence from the student and her parents, it: "...failed to issue any restrictions or warnings, failed to conduct an investigation, failed to institute any policies to shut down the behavior, and failed to impose any contact restrictions on Badley."
Badley resigned in January 2020, nine months before he was indicted.
The lawsuit requests a jury trial and punitive damages of at least $1 million.
"There is no dollar value that is going to repair the damage of what she and her family have been through," Tuegel added.
MORE: Keller News