Triton Sex Scandal Victims Might Sue School District

Attorneys representing the three victims in the Triton Regional High School teacher-student sex case have filed notices of potential lawsuits.

The notices of tort claim were filed in early November, roughly a month after charges were brought against five Triton educators—three male teachers accused of inappropriate relationships with female students and two administrators charged with covering up those relationships.

One victim is represented by Philadelphia firm Cozen O'Connor and the other two victims by Mount Laurel-based firm McLaughlin & Lauricella.

Former Triton teachers Jeffrey P. Logandro and Daniel R. Michielli have already pleaded guilty to inappropriate relationships with two potential plaintiffs, while the criminal case against a third Triton teacher also named in the tort notices remains open.

Logandro, of Deptford, and Michielli, of Blackwood, each entered a guilty plea to one count of third-degree official misconduct on Feb. 11. Both are facing 30 days in jail or on house arrest when they are sentenced on March 15.

Former Triton principal Catherine DePaul also pleaded guilty on Feb. 11. She accepted a plea deal on one count of failure to report to law enforcement allegations of child abuse or neglect—a disorderly persons offense—and was immediately sentenced to one year of probation.

All three tort notices claim "psychological trauma, severe emotional and psychological distress, mental anguish, medical expenses, loss of self-esteem, disruption of schooling, loss of reputation, loss of trust of authority figures, loss of future earning and learning capacity, and punitive and/or treble damages."

The tort notices filed on behalf of all three victims—all are 2012 Triton graduates—name the Black Horse Regional School District, Triton, Gloucester Township, Runnemede Borough, New Jersey, Camden County, DePaul and former Triton vice principal Jernee Kollock.

Logandro and Michielli are named individually in the tort notices filed on behalf of their respective victims, as is 28-year-old Nicholas V. Martinelli, of Cherry Hill, in the notice filed for his alleged victim.

Cozen O'Connor has not filed a lawsuit on behalf of its client, according to attorney Brian Kint, one of two attorneys named on the Nov. 9, 2012, tort notice.

A message left Thursday for Slade McLaughlin, at McLaughlin & Lauricella, was not returned. McLaughlin filed notices on behalf of his clients on Nov. 1, 2012.

Notices of tort claim are required when public entities are potential defendants in civil actions.

The three notices filed in the Triton teacher-student sex case do not specify dollar amounts the plaintiffs could seek in potential lawsuits.

Patch received the three tort notices this week after filing an Open Public Records Act request with the Black Horse Pike Regional School District.

In addition to the other penalties, Logandro, Michielli and DePaul forfeited their ability to teach or hold any public office in New Jersey ever again with their plea deals.

The cases against Martinelli, a physical education teacher, and Kollock, who was transferred to Timber Creek High School last summer, are pending. Both remain suspended with pay.

Unlike Logandro and Michielli, both of whom initially faced sex-specific charges, Martinelli is only charged with second-degree official misconduct, as his victim was 18 years old at the time of the alleged improper contact, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Kollock is charged with second-degree official misconduct and a disorderly persons offense for failure to report to law enforcement allegations of child abuse or neglect.

For more on the Triton teacher-student sex charges, also see:

• Former Triton Principal, Teachers Collected $95K+ While Suspended
• 'Foundation Jeopardized': School District Responds to Guilty Pleas
• BHPRSD Board Moves to Take Suspended Triton Educators' Pay
• Suspended Triton Educators Still Drawing Paychecks?
• School District Hires PR Firm in Wake of Triton Sex Scandal
• District, Superintendent Issue Statements on Triton Sex Scandal
• 'Shocked,' 'Astonished' Triton Students React to Sex Scandal
• [UPDATE] Triton Teachers Under Investigation

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