ST. LOUIS — Another former Kirkwood High School teacher is accused of sexually abusing a student.
A lawsuit filed in St. Louis county Friday accuses John "Jack" Collier of abusing a student identified as "Jane Doe" between 1980-1981. Collier was a football coach and Consumer Economics teacher in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Collier died in 2006.
The lawsuit also accuses the Kirkwood School District of ignoring incidents of "open and obvious sexual advances, sexual comments, [and] stalking" from Collier, directed at the victim.
The lawsuit alleges "Collier was caught stalking Plaintiff by Plaintiff’s mother. Collier showed up to Plaintiff’s residence uninvited at nighttime and began throwing small objects at Plaintiff’s bedroom window in an effort to lure Plaintiff from the residence."
According to the lawsuit, the victim's mother reported the stalking to school administrators, but they failed to "do anything to investigate, reprimand, deter, remedy and/or punish Collier’s conduct."
The lawsuit says Collier abused the victim by "raping, sodomizing, and/or abusing Plaintiff" on one or more occasions.
The lawsuit further alleges, staff began "openly gossiping, joking, and spreading rumors about Plaintiff" after learning about the abuse.
Collier is the third former Kirkwood teacher to face legal action over recent abuse claims.
Former drama teacher Christopher Stephens is facing statutory rape charges for abusing several former students in the late 1990s.
Former math teacher David Shapleigh is named in a federal title XI lawsuit against the district. Shapleigh is accused of raping a student in the mid-1980s.