Doe v. Pontotoc County School Dist.

• Decision Date: 15 May 2007
• Docket Number: No. 2005-CA-01749-COA.,2005-CA-01749-COA.
• Parties: Jane DOE and Jill Doe, Both Minors, by and Through Their Natural Mother, Legal Guardian and Next Friend, Mary BROWN; Mary Brown, Individually, and Jim Brown, Appellants. v. PONTOTOC COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellee.
• Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals

957 So.2d 410

Jane DOE and Jill Doe, Both Minors, by and Through Their Natural Mother, Legal Guardian and Next Friend, Mary BROWN; Mary Brown, Individually, and Jim Brown, Appellants. v. PONTOTOC COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellee.

No. 2005-CA-01749-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 15, 2007.

Matthew Yarbrough Harris, Attorney for Appellants.

Rachel Marie Pierce, J. Max Edwards, Tupelo, Attorneys for Appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., IRVING and BARNES, JJ.

BARNES, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Jane Doe and her sister, Jill Doe, both minors at the time this suit was originally filed, by and through their natural mother, Mary Brown, and step-father, Jim Brown,¹ appeal the judgment of the Circuit Court of Pontotoc County which found in favor of the defendant Pontotoc County School District. Finding no error, we affirm the ruling of the circuit court.

SUMMARY OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. Jane Doe and her twin sister Jill enrolled as students in North Pontotoc High School ("North Pontotoc") in the spring of the 2001-2002 school year. Both girls were fourteen years old and in the ninth grade. One of the girls' teachers was Jeremy Wise, who taught them math and was also the high school baseball coach.² Sometime in the spring of 2002, Wise began an association with Jane that ultimately went far beyond the bounds of appropriate student-teacher relations. At the time of this case, Wise had a two-year-old daughter, and his wife, also a teacher, was pregnant with their second child.

¶ 3. Wise's relationship with Jane and her family began innocently enough a few years earlier. Wise, just out of college, was licensed as a teacher in 1998 and obtained his initial teaching position as a sixth grade math teacher at North Pontotoc Elementary School where he first taught Jane and Jill. Wise developed a mentoring relationship with the girls during this time period, which was approved of and encouraged by their mother, as she was divorced from the girls' father and appreciated the support. Additionally, the twins had a strained relationship with their step-father, so Wise also assumed a fatherly role towards the girls. This relationship was endorsed by the twins' natural father, who lived in Memphis at the time.

¶ 4. It is important to note that prior to this case, Wise had no prior criminal record, no history of sexually harassing students, and was in fact highly regarded by the Pontotoc County school superintendent, Jerry Horton, and the North Pontotoc school principal, Steven Carr, who had both known Wise as a student in the Pontotoc public school system. Both individuals thought Wise would make a fine teacher. Further, in his short educational career, Wise had a reputation as a capable and caring teacher until this incident. Additionally, Wise received the standard sexual harassment training through the school district's teacher orientation at the beginning of the school year in 2001.

¶ 5. Jane's mother testified it was not until the girls reached the eighth grade that she noticed in retrospect Wise began paying more attention to Jane. Because of the mentoring role he had developed with the girls, it was not unusual for Wise to call Jane at her home, take her to church, or attend dance recitals and other extra-curricular activities on occasion. When Jane transferred to North Pontotoc early in 2002, Wise became Jane's math teacher. Wise also selected Jane to be a member of the "Diamond Girls," who were bat girls for the varsity baseball team. Indeed, Jane's mother testified repeatedly that she had complete trust in Wise, and Wise gave her no indication that she should feel otherwise, or that his relationship with Jane was anything more than "fatherly" attention.

¶ 6. In the spring of 2002, Jane and Wise's relationship became inappropriate. Except for five undisputed instances of physical contact, their relations consisted of private exchanges through e-mails, phone calls and handwritten notes. Because of the illicit nature of their relationship, Wise and Jane hid it. Jane testified Wise stressed the importance of keeping their relationship a secret; otherwise, he would lose his job, wife and daughter. Jane testified she therefore told no one, including her twin sister, with whom she was very close, about the increasing extent of her relationship with Wise.

¶ 7. Evidence and testimony showed any outward manifestations of their illicit relationship at the school were not publicly obvious or out of the ordinary. Jane would often attend Wise's math class twice in one day, grading papers and helping other students during the second class which was a common activity by the students. Occasionally, Wise would walk Jane to her mother's car at the end of the school day in the front of the school, in full view of the student body and faculty. Wise gave the twins a ride home from baseball games. As far as on the home front, Jane's mother was aware of Wise's incoming phone calls, but she testified there was always a legitimate school-related reason for them. Additionally, Wise went to Jane's home on one occasion to tutor both girls in math, with their mother's permission.

¶ 8. Evidence and testimony also showed Wise and Jane's verbal communications were very discrete. E-mails were not written on school computers. Wise's handwritten notes were slipped into Jane's jacket at school when nobody was looking. There was a confrontation between Jane and Wise's wife after a baseball game that apparently went unnoticed as well. Jane's steady boyfriend at the time was also unaware of her relationship with Wise.

¶ 9. As the inappropriate relationship continued throughout the spring and summer of 2002, there were five instances of undisputed physical contact between Wise and Jane. The first instance was in the school field house. Jane testified that while she was hanging up baseball uniforms, Wise came into the field house, and alone behind closed doors, he grabbed Jane from behind and hugged her. The second instance was at a school basketball game that Wise and Jane attended together. Jane, who was babysitting Wise's daughter, testified Wise sat behind her in the stands during the game and rubbed her shoulders periodically. The third instance was in May, when Jane accompanied Wise to a coaches' meeting in Ripley. During the meeting, Jane waited in Wise's truck. After the meeting on the way home, Wise stopped in the parking lot of his father's business in Tupelo, and, in this secluded location, fondled Jane in the back of his truck. The fourth instance was in Wise's home. Initially, Wise and Jane had planned on playing golf, but instead, Wise took her to his home where, alone, they lay on his bed together. The last instance of physical contact was when Wise kissed Jane in his truck outside of her home after giving her a ride home from a baseball game. Wise and Jane deny sexual intercourse ever occurred between them, and both maintain they were clothed during all of their physical encounters. Additionally, with the exception of the supposed golf excursion, Jane was never alone with Wise without the permission of her mother.

¶ 10. The school principal, Carr, testified that he first heard about the possibility of Wise's inappropriate relationship with Jane through an unsubstantiated rumor in the spring of 2002 from the school secretary. It is not known where the secretary received the information. The trial court found "that there was a rumor about indicating that one of the students and a coach were involved. There [was] no more specific information available. . . ." Based on the rumor, Carr proceeded to carefully monitor the situation at the school, looking for any evidence to corroborate the rumor. Over a period of time, Carr did not observe any inappropriate behavior between Wise and Jane on school grounds to give credence to the rumor. The second instance the possibility of an inappropriate student-teacher affair was brought to the principal's attention was when a school board member, who had heard the same rumor from the school secretary, notified Superintendent Horton, who called Principal Carr. Carr then immediately confronted Wise and asked about the truthfulness of the rumor. Wise vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Carr proceeded to lecture Wise about how even a mere rumor can "ruin" a teacher's career. Again, Wise maintained his innocence. At the time, Carr believed Wise, and in any event, there was no substantiated evidence beyond this one rumor to prove otherwise. Carr maintained he did not receive any other complaints or rumors from anyone else regarding the situation, including other students, teachers, or any of Jane's family members. Moreover, later in the semester Wise's wife came to Carr and requested that the twins not be placed in any of her husband's classes the following year because of the rumor, but she emphasized to Carr that she felt the rumor was unfounded.

¶ 11. The relationship was finally exposed in the middle of July when Jane's half-sister found some discarded love letters from Wise to Jane in the trash. The half-sister told Jill, who brought the matter to the attention of Jane's mother. Obtaining Jane's e-mail password, Jane's mother read the impassioned e-mails between her daughter and the teacher on the computer and was infuriated by Wise's breach of trust. The mother claimed it was at this time she first realized Wise's relationship with her daughter was not innocent. With copies of the e-mails in hand, Jane's mother went to Wise's house, confronted him in front of his wife and demanded his resignation from the high school. Wise complied and gave principal Carr his resignation on July 17, 2002, claiming it was over some "stupid e-mails." Wise did not elaborate further. Carr and the school board accepted Wise's resignation, still ignorant as to the extent of Wise's relationship with Jane. Around this time, Jane's mother also delivered copies of the e-mails to the school's guidance counselor to...