Abuse Victim and School Settles
Posted Courtesy of The Post and Courier (http://www.charleston.net)
Published on 4/28/00
BY TONY BARTELME
Of The Post and Courier Staff
In an abrupt but emotional ending to the Porter-Gaud trial, the private school and a sexual abuse victim of one of its former teachers agreed Thursday to settle their differences out of court.
Porter-Gaud officials declined to comment after Circuit Judge Daniel Pieper announced there was a settlement, but the man who sued the school, Shaw Simpson, declared victory.
"We got to tell our story," he said, referring to the trial's three days of testimony. "This is about a school that lied. Everyone heard that, so we won."
Though they didn't have a chance to decide the case, nearly all the jurors were waiting outside to greet Simpson after he emerged from the Charleston County Courthouse. Several jurors hugged him.
Jurors declined to discuss the matter with The Post and Courier.
The terms of the settlement were confidential. "The judge thought the terms were fair, and we're just glad to see it resolved," said Porter-Gaud attorney Bobby Stepp of Columbia. Stepp declined to comment further, saying "we've got other cases pending."
Simpson claimed that Porter-Gaud helped one of its teachers, Eddie Fischer, get jobs at other schools even though school officials knew he was a child molester.
Simpson filed the lawsuit against Porter-Gaud and the estates of Berkeley Grimball and James Bishop Alexander, two deceased school officials. A key part of the case was a positive job recommendation that Alexander wrote for Fischer in 1986 to the Charleston County School District.
The trial was expected to end Thursday. Simpson's side had just two more witnesses, and Porter-Gaud had indicated before the trial that it would call just one witness.
But before the trial got under way Thursday, both sides met behind closed doors in Pieper's offices.
Just before noon, the judge called court back into session. Simpson and his family were in tears as they took their seats in the courtroom. Pieper asked Simpson and Porter-Gaud's lawyers whether they had freely chosen to settle the case. Both sides said yes.
Calling it "a truly long, emotional and trying case," Pieper commended both sides for resolving the matter. "Hopefully, now, Mr. Simpson, you will be able to move on with your life," the judge said.
He added that he hoped Porter-Gaud could also move on with its affairs - "a new era as far as the school is concerned."
Simpson said later that the judge strongly urged him to reach an agreement.
One of Porter-Gaud's arguments was that because Simpson was 18, the sexual contact with Fischer was consensual. Another Porter-Gaud defense rested on the state's three-year statute of limitations for civil lawsuits. According to the law, someone who is wronged has three years to sue. Simpson was molested in 1989 or 1990 when he was a senior at James Island High.
Simpson's lawyers, Gregg Meyers and David Flowers, argued that their client didn't find out Porter-Gaud had recommended Fischer to other schools until late 1997, well within the statute of limitations. They also argued that the statute of limitations defense sends a message that if institutions cover up their wrongdoing for at least three years, they can get away with it.
The judge "didn't think the jury was in our corner on the age and consent issues," Simpson said. "You had those two problems plus the statute of limitations issue, and he said that there was a 65 percent chance that the case would be thrown out."
Simpson said he felt boxed in at first. "But I think I'll probably appreciate what the judge did in two weeks." A settlement spared his family a probable appeal. "We didn't technically get a verdict, but we won and justice was done."
During the trial, witnesses testified that Alexander, a longtime Porter-Gaud principal, forced Fischer to resign in 1982 after a student complained that Fischer had molested him.
Testimony showed that in 1986, Alexander then wrote a positive recommendation for Fischer to the Charleston County School District, and Fischer landed a job at James Island High. Alexander killed himself two years ago, shortly before he was to be deposed in connection with the lawsuit.
Another witness, Guerry Glover, testified that he warned former Porter-Gaud headmaster Gordon Bondurant twice in the 1990s about Fischer.
Bondurant acknowledged the warnings - and his decision not to notify James Island High. "I could have, and I regret (not doing) it to this day," he told the jury.
Grimball, the school's headmaster before Bondurant, said the school received its first complaint about Fischer in 1973 and put him on probation. After Fischer resigned in 1982, he said he didn't report the matter to police because Fischer's victim wanted to keep the matter private.
During the trial, Simpson testified that he did not consent to having sex with Fischer, and that Fischer's ability to weave a web of fear and shame caused a paralysis that prevented him from telling others what happened.
Fischer, now serving a 20-year sentence on 13 sex abuse charges, said in a deposition that he was responsible for the abuse. "Even if he was 21, I was responsible."
Porter-Gaud's former headmaster, Bondurant, testified that it was improper for a teacher to have sexual relations with a student, regardless of the student's age.
Simpson's settlement came nearly two weeks after another former James Island High School student settled his suit against Porter-Gaud and the Charleston County School District. In that suit, the victim alleged Porter-Gaud and James Island High officials were warned about Fischer but did nothing.
Representatives from both sides in that case have declined to comment on the terms.
Simpson said while the terms in his case were confidential, "the testimony is out there. We brought forward the truth." He said one of his goals in bringing the lawsuit was to make people more aware of the damage that can be done to children when school officials don't report pedophiles to police.
Despite Thursday's settlement, Porter-Gaud's legal troubles are not over.
Two class-action lawsuits have been filed, and three other victims - two former Porter-Gaud students and one from James Island High - are suing the school.
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