Denver educators report being sexually abused by students with special needs

Three young teachers at a Denver school for children with serious behavioral problems were regularly sexually abused by students and ignored by school administrators when they sought help, according to a new lawsuit.

The three women, recent college graduates who are passionate about working with children with special needs, said they endured months of groping, grabbing and choking at the Laradon School, a nonprofit school of about 70 students in north Denver.

Victoria Schmidt, an educational aide hired in 2021, was repeatedly attacked in her classroom by a 13-year-old boy. Among other things, he grabbed her in a hallway, put her in a chokehold so tight she was scared to death, and stuck his hand “deep into her pants and underwear,” according to the lawsuit filed this week in Denver District Court.

The harassment began in Schmidt’s first days on the job, and other teachers reportedly told her they weren’t surprised because Schmidt was just the boy’s type, “young and pretty.” The abuse escalated from inappropriate sexual touching to assault, even though Schmidt asked her supervisors for help, she said.

A co-worker told Schmidt to stay still and tolerate the boy touching her breasts and bottom.

The lawsuit alleges that while Laradon provided training on how to deal with physical aggression, it did not provide training on how to deal with sexual aggression from students. All three young women claim that when they were hired, they were told that the school would not accept students with a history of sexually aggressive behavior.

Laradon responded in an emailed statement to The Colorado Sun that there are “clear policies and procedures in place to respond quickly and consistently to incidents of physical or sexual aggression.”

“Despite our efforts to find a mutual solution and underscore our commitment to safety, we are disappointed that three former employees have filed a complaint against Laradon that completely misrepresents our response to incidents that occurred during their employment with us,” the school said. The two students accused of sexual assault have been fired, school officials said, adding that they would not provide further details “out of respect for the privacy of those involved.”

Laradon serves more than 400 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through its school, adult day program and other services. The school is one of about 30 so-called “facility schools” in Colorado that serve children with severe behavioral, mental health or special education needs. The goal is to provide them with therapy so they can one day return to regular school and learn to function in the workplace.

The lawsuit comes at a time when residential schools are under scrutiny and facing severe staffing shortages, funding shortfalls and rapid closure. About 50 residential schools have closed in Colorado since 2004.

Schmidt was eventually transferred to another class, but the boy continued to “stalk her in the hallways and classrooms” for months and sexually harassed her a second time in the schoolyard, the lawsuit says. In the summer of 2022, the student was finally expelled from school – after Schmidt endured “sexual violence and threats of sexual violence” for nine months, it says.

A few months later, in another classroom, assistant teacher Kendal Lansing and teacher Brooke Swenson were sexually harassed almost daily by a 12-year-old student who had a “well-documented history of sexualized behavior.” Schmidt was also assaulted by the same child. The girl was transferred from the Tennyson Center for Children to Laradon, where she had become “too difficult to handle,” according to the lawsuit.

The girl “engaged in physical violence and destruction of property, as is common, albeit disturbing, behavior in Laradon,” the lawsuit says, and then within a few months became sexually aggressive. She reached into Lansing and Swenson’s clothing, grabbed their breasts, struck their genitals and tried to rip their clothes off, the women claim.

When they asked their supervisors how to handle the matter, they were told to give the student “space.” If that didn’t work, they were told to physically restrain her, but that was only allowed in extreme situations where people were in danger. The women say the rules for restraint were never clearly defined in sexual assault cases.

The abuse escalated to the point where in May 2023, the student pushed Schmidt against a wall and tried to pull down her pants and underwear. Other staff members pulled the girl away from Schmidt. The girl then ran toward Lansing, grabbed her crotch and breasts and tried to get between her legs, the lawsuit says.

The same girl also attacked Swenson, kneeing her in the butt and trying to pull off her shirt. Swenson said she tried to hide from the girl.

Swenson, 25, said she was already in therapy to deal with the physical abuse when the sexual assaults began.

“I remember talking to my mom and saying, ‘I don’t know what to do, Mom, I’m getting my hair pulled so bad,'” Swenson said in an interview with The Sun. “She recommended that I cut my hair super short so the kids couldn’t grab it. I ended up wearing a really tight bun at the top of my head.”

Swenson said talking to school administrators about the abuse was “like talking to a wall.”

“I just wanted to be heard,” she said. “I’m human, so listen to me when I tell you what’s happening to me. And just believe me.”

All three women, who earned between $17 and $20 an hour, quit their jobs at Laradon in the summer of 2023. None of them ever wanted to work in a special education school again, they said.

Lansing, 25, said she planned to press charges after the 12-year-old girl violently attacked her for the second time. Even after Lansing changed classrooms, “the student followed us through the halls, found me and then assaulted me again before we could lock the door and get her away from me,” Lansing said.

Laradon suggested Lansing take a leave of absence, she said. “I did that and I was never able to return after that,” she said. Today she works as a speech therapist at an elementary school.

Schmidt, 25, said the experience destroyed her passion for working with children with special needs. “Now I will never work with children again,” she said. “And I never want to work in special education again. And because of what happened in Laradon, I don’t want to have children of my own.”

Schmidt said her goal in suing her former employer was ultimately to protect the children.

“When you work with a child who needs special education, the kids can sense when you’re not doing something well,” she said. “And it was hard for all of us to sit there and say, ‘Let’s just cover it up. Let’s just get through it.’ Because the kids know. They deserve a lot more than employees who can barely function because of their trauma.”

The lawsuit seeks compensation for psychiatric treatment and past and future emotional distress. The women’s attorney, Dan Williams, said he hopes the case will raise awareness of the state of residential schools and lead to protection for children.

“Honestly, it was just shocking for me to learn about the physical and sexual violence,” he said. “You’re dealing with really fragile children here and it’s important that things get right for these children.”