Doe v. Indep. Sch. Dist. 31
| Decision Date | 11 January 2023 |
| Docket Number | 20-cv-00226 (SRN/LIB) |
| Parties | Jane Doe 1, by and through her parents and natural guardians, Mother Doe 1 and Father Doe 1, and Jane Doe 2, by and through her parent and natural guardian, Mother Doe 2, Plaintiffs, v. Independent School District 31, d/b/a Bemidji Area Schools, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota |
Matthew H. Morgan, Melanie April Johnson, Nicole Jean Schladt, and Rebekah L. Bailey, Nichols Kaster PLLP, for Plaintiffs.
Harrison E. Berg, Jeffrey M. Markowitz, and Sarah E Bushnell, Arthur Chapman Kettering Smetak & Pikala, for Defendant.
ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND THE PARTIES' CROSS-MOTIONS TO EXCLUDE EXPERT TESTIMONY
This matter is before the Court on the following motions: (1) the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Independent School District 31, d/b/a Bemidji Area Schools (“District”) [Doc. No. 154]; (2) the District's Motion to Exclude the Expert Opinions of Therapist [Doc. No. 129]; (3) Plaintiffs' Motion to Exclude the Expert Testimony of Defendant's Expert Leslie Hainrihar Chretien [Doc. No. 140]; and (4) the 1 District's Motion to Exclude the Plaintiffs' Experts John Carney and Dr. Carol Shakeshaft [Doc. No. 148].
For the reasons set forth below, the Court: (1) grants in part and denies in part Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment; (2) denies the District's Motion to Exclude the Expert Opinions of Therapist; (3) grants in part and denies in part Plaintiffs' Motion to Exclude the Expert Testimony of Leslie Hainrihar Chretien; and (4) denies the District's Motion to Exclude the Expert Opinions of John Carney and Dr. Carol Shakeshaft.
The District is a Minnesota public school district that operates multiple elementary schools, Bemidji Middle School (“BMS”), and Bemidji High School (“BHS”), among others, and that receives federal funding. (Rule 26(f) Report and Proposed Scheduling Order (Rule 26(f) Report) [Doc. No. 34] at 3.) During the 2016-2017 school year the District employed roughly 860 people. (Second Hickman Decl. [Doc. No. 223] ¶ 6.)
Plaintiffs Jane Doe 1 (“JD1”) and Jane Doe 2 (“JD2”) are both minors who attended BMS in the years relevant to this litigation. Mother Doe 1 (“MD1”) and Father Doe 1 (“FD1”) are JDl's parents and Mother Doe 2 (“MD2”) is JD2's mother.
This case stems from the sexual exploitation of JD1 and JD2 by BMS Assistant Principal Brandon Bjerknes.
Mr. Bjerknes began his career with the District as a teacher at Northern Elementary School in 2005. (Second Schladt Decl. [Doc. No. 214], Ex. 32.) A series of promotions led to his employment as Assistant Principal of BMS beginning in 2014. (See Second Schladt Decl., Exs. 33, 34.) As Assistant Principal, Mr. Bjerknes' responsibilities included disciplining students and addressing other social and personal issues they raised with him. (Rule 26(f) Report at 4; Third Markowitz Decl. [Doc. No. 157], Ex. 10 (Vaughn Dep. Tr.) at 85:25-88:20; Third Markowitz Decl., Ex. 5 (Hildenbrand Dep. Tr.) at 78:4-80:19.)
Shortly after he began as Assistant Principal, in the fall of 2014, Mr. Bjerknes created a fictitious online persona named “Brett Larson.” (See, e.g., Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 14 (Police Report DOE0003367-3577)[1] at DOE0003419-21.) As “Brett Larson,” Mr. Bjerknes purported to be a 12-to-15-year-old adolescent from Duluth. (Id. at DOE0003414; Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 7 (Federal Change of Plea Tr.) at 21:8-24.) Mr. Bjerknes created a Facebook profile, which he used to “friend” 530 Bemidji-area students, as well as two Snapchat accounts. (Federal Change of Plea Tr. at 21:12-15; Police Report DOE0003367-3577 at DOE0003386, DOE0003393.)
Over the course of three years, Mr. Bjerknes used the Brett Larson social media accounts to engage in sexually explicit communications with at least 55 minor children, including 11 BMS students, 10 BHS students, and several other students local to the Bemidji area, JD1 and JD2 among them. (Federal Change of Plea Tr. at 22:11-16; Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 13 (Bemidji Police Department Victim Spreadsheet).) Mr. Bjerknes communicated with some victims for multiple years. (Police Report DOE0003367-3577 at DOE0003392; Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 15 (Police Report DOE0003581-83) at DOE0003583.)
Mr. Bjerknes admitted to knowing several of his victims because of his position as Assistant Principal at BMS, (Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 12 (Beltrami Cnty. Plea Tr.) at 17:7-11, 22:3-6), and he would use information he learned in that capacity to manipulate them. For example, at least one of Mr. Bjerknes' victims had met with him at BMS about being bullied for her sexual and gender orientations before he targeted her. (Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 18 (Police Report DOE0004362).) When he contacted her as “Brett Larson,” Mr. Bjerknes stated that he had been bullied for being bisexual and told the victim “[it is] awesome ur trans.” (Id.) Other lies that Mr. Bjerknes used to garner his victims' sympathy included that his mother had cancer or was deceased, or that his father was in the hospital with cancer, or that he had recently been released from the hospital for cutting himself. (Police Report DOE0003367-3577 at DOE0003414, DOE0003417.)
After gaining his victims' trust, Mr. Bjerknes would transition to inappropriate topics, graphic descriptions of sexual acts he wished to perform, and requests for nude photographs and videos. (Id. at DOE0003380.) Messages that Mr. Bjerknes sent to just one of his victims include: “So I can tie u up and rape u”; “So u would like if I cum in your pussy then go down there and suck it out and eat my own cum from your pussy”; “And I could piss on your face?”; “i want u have to have 2 fingers in and i wanna fuck ur butt from behind.” (Police Report DOE0003581-83 at DOE0003583.)
The photos that victims sent to Mr. Bjerknes included images of exposed breasts, exposed buttocks, “legs spread wide open,” and objects inserted into the victim's vagina. (Police Report DOE0003367-3577 at DOE0003398-3411.) Victims also sent videos of themselves masturbating. (Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 20 (Police Report DOE0004333-4359) at DOE0004348.) At least one victim complied with his requests out of fear that Mr. Bjerknes would find her if she did not. (Id. at DOE0004348.)
Mr. Bjerknes sent his victims pornography as well as photographs of his penis. (Police Report DOE0003367-3577 at DOE0003413.) Although Mr. Bjerknes asked some victims to meet up with him, fortunately none did. (Id. at DOE0003372 (), DOE0003413 ().)
The results of the administrative subpoenas served after Mr. Bjerknes' arrest showed that he accessed his “Brett Larson” Facebook and Snapchat accounts on his work phone and on Wi-Fi IP addresses associated with BMS. (Police Report DOE0003367-3577 at DOE0003388-89; Walton Dep. Tr. at 72:9-75:6, 80:10-81:24; Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 21 (Police Report DOE0004395-400, 4437-51, 5469) at DOE0004399.) The police determined that Mr. Bjerknes would view his victims' sexually explicit Snapchat photos and videos on his personal phone, use his work phone to record them, and then download them from his work phone onto his personal computer. (Walton Dep. Tr. at 145:4-148:9.)
Sometimes Mr. Bjerknes would view the Snapchats on his work phone and record them with his personal phone. (Police Report DOE0003367-3577 at DOE0003398.) Mr. Bjerknes memorialized at least 29 sexually explicit Snapchats using this process. (Id. at DOE0003398-3411.)
Mr. Bjerknes reached out to JD1 through Facebook Messenger as Brett Larson when she was a seventh grader, in the 2015-2016 school year. (Third Markowitz Decl., Ex. 3 (JD1 Dep. Tr.) at 36:24-37:17.) JD1 only once interacted with him at school, but Mr. Bjerknes knew that she has difficulty communicating due to several medical diagnoses, including autism and selective mutism, because he helped manage her Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) accommodations. (JD1 Dep. Tr. at 24:19-26:4; Third Markowitz Decl., Ex. 1 (FD1 Dep. Tr.) at 36:19-37:2; Third Markowitz Decl., Ex. 2 (MD1 Dep. Tr.) at 18:3-20:6, 20:19-21:10; Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 31 (JD1 IEP); Vaughn Dep. Tr. at 63:14-22.) In fact, in March 2015, Mr. Bjerknes emailed the Director of Special Education seeking speech services for JD1 because “[t]he lady is selective mute and I have never heard her talk.” (Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 53.)
MD1 testified that, as a result, Mr. Bjerknes knew JD1's vulnerabilities, that she “was isolated and didn't have a lot of friends[,] and [that she] was an easy target.” (MD1 Dep. Tr. at 31:15-32:5.) FD1 agreed that Mr. Bjerknes' took advantage of JD1's desire “to have a friend . . . [to have] a boyfriend.” (FD1 Dep. Tr. at 38:1-12.)
Mr. Bjerknes used Facebook Messenger and later Snapchat to engage in sexual conversations with JD1 and to request pornographic photos and videos from her. (JD1 Dep. Tr. at 40:13-16; Second Schladt Decl., Ex. 28.) Sometimes these conversations occurred during the school day. (JD1 Dep. Tr. at 43:20-44:8; Third Markowitz Decl., Ex. 4 (Student 1 (“S1”) Dep. Tr.) at 102:22-104:13.) Although she felt uncomfortable with his requests, JD1 complied with them because Mr. Bjerknes would “not tak[e] no for an answer.” (JD1 Dep. Tr. at 41:6-17.) JD1 sent Mr. Bjerknes at least eight pornographic videos, including one of her breasts and one of her masturbating. (Police Report DOE0004333-4359 at DOE0004337-4346.)
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