Victim of teacher’s sexual abuse sues San Simon School District
District claims immunity from damages despite employee’s criminal conduct
Teacher released from Arizona prison, rejoins husband in Idaho
--- MARIE ELLEN DONALDSON ---
BISBEE - On Sept. 7 the San Simon Unified School District was sued by a former student who was subjected to repeated sexual misconduct by a teacher who was also the wife of the District’s superintendent.
The civil lawsuit was filed in Cochise County Superior Court by Sierra Vista attorney Perry Hicks on behalf of the now 18-year-old male victim.
The complaint – which also names former San Simon teacher Marie Donaldson and her husband, then-superintendent Curry Donaldson, as defendants – alleges negligence, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Plaintiff is asking for general and special damages, as well as punitive damages.
The court action was filed just weeks after Marie Donaldson was released by the Arizona Department of Corrections, having served 10 months and three days of a one-year prison sentence handed down Nov. 23, 2015 by Judge James Conlogue. The sentence also calls for Donaldson to serve lifetime probation, surrender any teaching licenses, and register as a sex offender.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, Hicks attempted to resolve the victim’s claim with the District. On Oct. 23, 2015, he sent a notice of claim to the District board demanding damages of $1.2 million. The District did not reply to the demand.
According to various documents, the victimized student was a freshman in Marie Donaldson’s class during the 2012/2013 school year. Toward the end of the school year Donaldson initiated a “personal relationship” with the student which eventually included frequent sexual conduct.
The complaint alleges that as early as the summer of 2013, Curry Donaldson recognized his wife’s behavior with the student was inappropriate, and that as superintendent he “had the authority and ability to institute corrective measures” to protect the student, but “he did nothing.”
Cell phones “lost” days after investigation starts
Later that year Marie Donaldson provided the teenager a cell phone – set up on her personal account – which was used to facilitate the relationship and send sexually explicit messages to the student. The victim alleges various staff members knew of persistent rumors about the relationship and that in January 2014 a teacher’s aide reported her suspicions to a school administrator.
School staff including Curry Donaldson “had a duty to report allegations of abuse and professional misconduct in order to prevent the needless victimization of children,” the complaint asserts, yet no one contacted police or state education officials, leaving the student vulnerable to the teacher’s continued “criminal acts.”
It took until Thursday, May 15, 2014 before the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a staff member about the relationship. At the time the Donaldsons were in California for a senior class trip. The complaint notes they both “conveniently lost their cell phones” that weekend, which Hicks believes “indicates that the cell phones contained incriminating evidence.”
Explicit text messages from Marie Donaldson were retrieved from the student’s cell phone and presented as evidence in the criminal case. There is no public record of a criminal investigation involving Curry Donaldson.
The complaint also alleges that as the criminal case progressed in spring 2015 the student “experienced retaliation from the school” in the form of repeated and excessive disciplinary action “in an attempt to get Plaintiff to leave SSUSD.” As a result, the complaint says the student was “unable to play football his senior season” and enrolled in another district for his senior year after moving from the area.
School District denies negligence and retaliation
.On Oct. 7, an attorney for the District’s insurer filed an answer to the student’s civil action. The filing, by David Pauole of Wright Welker & Paoule, denies most of the claims and notes the District is “without knowledge or information sufficient” to answer some of the allegations.
The District also cites immunity under Arizona Revised Statute 12-820.05, which states a public entity “is not liable” for claims “directly attributable to an act or omission determined by a court to be a criminal felony by a public employee unless the public entity knew of the public employee's propensity for that action.”
The response also asserts there was no retaliation against the victim, as all disciplinary actions were the result of the student’s own misbehavior. That included one incident involving alcohol for which the victim and three other students “were automatically suspended from participation in extracurricular activities for 40 days.”
The District is asking Judge Charles Irwin to dismiss the complaint. As of Oct. 13, the Donaldsons have not filed their answers with the Clerk of Superior Court.
Arrested in Idaho; returns after 10 months in Arizona prison
Curry Donaldson resigned from the San Simon District effective July 8, 2014 after seven years of service. On July 23, 2014 he signed a contract to serve as superintendent of the North Gem (Idaho) School District through June 30, 2016. It is unclear what he disclosed to Idaho officials about the investigation when he was hired, but the school board voted in January 2016 to not renew his contract.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s investigation into Marie Donaldson’s activities culminated in a grand jury indictment on Jan. 15, 2015 for 10 charges of sexual misconduct with a minor. The criminal charges covered December 2013 to May 2014, the last part of the purported 14-month relationship. She was arrested a few days later in Idaho, returned to Arizona for arraignment, and was released on bond pending trial.
On June 12, 2015 Judge Conlogue accepted Marie Donaldson’s guilty plea to two counts of the indictment as part of a plea agreement. Donaldson was represented by private defense attorney Ruben Teran. She could have faced up to 8.75 years in prison for the more serious of the two counts but the plea deal stipulated lifetime probation instead. The sentence for the second count was left to the discretion of the judge.
A pre-sentence report was prepared by Cochise County Adult Probation Dept to aid the Court in determining an appropriate sentence. In that report, the victim’s legal guardian was quoted as saying the teenager “genuinely believed he was in love with the defendant,” which led him to want to protect Donaldson during the investigation. The guardian also noted Donaldson talked with the teen about “becoming an emancipated adult, so they could ‘run away’ together.”
The report recommended at least a two year prison sentence, citing Donaldson’s “lack of personal accountability for her actions” as well as “the emotional harm to the victim,” that she was “a teacher that abused a position of trust,” and that the sexual abuse was “not isolated incidents.” In the end, Conlogue sentenced Donaldson to one year in prison (of which she had to serve at least 85 percent before release).
Following her discharge from an Arizona prison last month, the 37-year-old returned to her family in Idaho.
The Caribou County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday that Donaldson “is compliant with her reporting” requirements as a sex offender. Her lifetime probation order is currently being overseen by the Idaho Dept. of Corrections.
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Contact reporter Terri Jo Neff at 520-508-3660 and cjw_media@yahoo.com
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Editor's Note: The San Simon Unified School District reported a 2016 operations, maintenance and capital expenditures budget of $2.5 million. The district has approximately 145 enrolled students.
