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Former middle school teacher Kirsten Kinley is serving an 18-month sentence after being convicted of sexual offenses against a 15-year-old. The student, now 18, has filed a lawsuit against Kinley and the school district.
Howard County (Map, News) - The former Howard County teacher convicted of sex offenses with a 15-year-old boy now faces a $3 million civil lawsuit for causing the victim emotional distress.
The victim, now 18, filed a lawsuit Feb. 29 in Howard Circuit Court against former Hammond Middle School teacher Kirsten Kinley, the Howard Board of Education, Hammond Middle School Principal Kerry McGowan and the state.
Kinley, 28, who was convicted of third-degree sexual offense, is accused of “intentionally inflicting extreme emotional distress” when she had sex with the boy at her Columbia apartment and sent him nude photographs of herself in December 2004 while she was a Hammond Middle teacher, according to the lawsuit.
The Columbia victim, a former Hammond High student, was “vulnerable” and undergoing therapy for depression at the time, according to the lawsuit.
In addition, the lawsuit said Kinley had “additional sexual liaisons” with underage students in the Howard school system.
The state of Maryland, Howard school board and Hammond Middle School Principal Kerry McGowan “breached their duty of care” to protect students, according to the lawsuit.
“There are a number of Howard County teachers who have been reported to have committed sexual actives ... and that is disconcerting,” said the victim’s attorney, Michael Taylor.
Former Glenelg High School teacher Joseph Ellis, 25, was convicted in January of sex abuse of a minor, indecent exposure and telephone misuse.
Former River Hill High School teacher Alan Beier, 52, is scheduled to go on trial March 26 for sex abuse of a minor.
“As far as a pattern, I don’t think there is one,” said School Board Member Diane Mikulis, who was board president.
She added that the incidents are “very unfortunate occurrences.”
Howard schools spokeswoman Patti Caplan said school officials “were not in a position to comment,” because they had not received the lawsuit.
Taylor said the School Board “was made aware of” the lawsuit and will be served it soon.
Kinley is serving 18 months at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup.
Staff Writer Sara Michael contributed to this story.
cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com
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1:02 PM MST on Fri., Mar. 21, 2008 re: "Victim of sex offense sues ex-teacher, Howard school board"
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9:12 AM MST on Sat., Mar. 15, 2008
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5:31 PM MST on Sat., Nov. 17, 2007
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Mike said:
This story is inaccurate because the victim lives in the Laurel/Scaggsville area and attends Reservoir High. When reporters decide to be inaccurate, you wonder if the rest of the story is factual.
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Examiner Reader said:
A more frightening thought is if either Kirsten Kinley or Joseph Ellis where products of the Howard County Public School System. Where is the moral compass in Howard County Schools?
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Examiner Reader said:
Wouldn't this make this kid a prostitute? He would be paid for having sex!!!
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johnn said:
the readers of this comment may not like what im about to say,but when i was 15yr i wish my teachers had turned me on to sex,it would not have messed me up,and i would have been smiling all through school..im sure there are other 15 yr old boys in school who agree,of course im speaking form a male to women point of view,i dont think i would feel the same way if a guy was the one making the advances,i would be in jail for assault
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Examiner Reader said:
I would suggest that to prevent Ms. Kirsten Kinley from further harming any other young children in the future that she be castrated. Frankly, castration should be done on all convicted sex offenders with no exception. It is the only way we are going to stop these horrible crimes of rapes and other sex offensives. The same people who object to the death penalty will, of course, object to castration; but we must put a halt to these horrible crimes, and castration will do it.
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