School System Sued for Not Protecting Students

(Bayonne, New Jersey) Some readers may recall the case of Bayonne High School guidance counselor Diane West, 52, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a 15-year-old male student and received probation.

The lenient sentence resulted from West's defenders convincing the court that her offense was only a single lapse of judgment in an otherwise stellar career in education. However, new information concerning Diane West indicates otherwise and the school system is being sued for neglecting to protect students.

From NYTimes.com:

It was not until 2001, when relatives of the boy, Christopher Castlegrande, filed a complaint with the police of statutory rape against Ms. West, that she left her $74,000-a-year job and lost her unfettered access to Bayonne High School's students.

After Ms. West was arrested, school officials insisted for more than a year that the allegation was the only accusation of misconduct in a sterling 24-year career. They allowed her to take an early retirement package that fattened her pension, and gave her a farewell party with cake and ice cream. When Ms. West pleaded guilty in 2005 to sexual assault charges, glowing references from co-workers, supervisors and friends helped persuade a judge to sentence her only to probation. She was also spared the ordeal of having to register as a sex offender.

Now, with Mr. Castlegrande suing the school district for failing to protect students from a woman with a sexual appetite for under-age boys, this city of 62,000 has been forced to examine how little was done to stop her earlier. Even as the news media were saturated with coverage of teachers like Pamela Smart and Mary Kay Letourneau who slept with their students, Bayonne averted its eyes for years.

Details of the lawsuit are not known but the Times article describes a history of inappropriate behavior by West that was apparently ignored by the Bayonne School System. Notably, West married a former student after she became pregnant and gave birth to his child while he was still a student. Also, early in her teaching career, West was seen pawing a 13-year-old student at an eighth-grade dance.

With the lawsuit, the Bayonne School System will likely be forced to reexamine its entire philosophy regarding inappropriate behavior by teachers.


[Update 10/24/06]

The school system has settled with Mr. Castlegrande.

From The Jersey Journal:

A settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit filed against the Bayonne Board of Education and eight current and/or former school employees by Christopher Castlegrande, the former Bayonne High School student involved in a sexual relationship with his then-guidance counselor, Diane Cherchio West.

Castlegrande's Bloomfield attorney, Robert Bianchi, said that as of yesterday, the case is "completely resolved" and "dismissed with prejudice, meaning that nobody can go after anybody."

Bianchi declined to disclose the financial terms of the settlement. "My client has instructed me not to release the numbers," he said.

Rumors were that Castlegrande wanted $400,000 so, with the attorney's fees, the school's insurance company likely ponied up about a half million dollars. It's rumor, though. However, it's not rumor that Diane West walked away from court with a hand slap for her inappropriate and criminal behavior.

Show's over, folks. Move along, there's nothing else to see here.