Image Credit: Blount County Schools & Google Earth
Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
Parents are suing Blount County Schools along with several employees after accusations of physical and sexual assault of special needs students by a former teacher.
According to the lawsuit, Kathryn Goins, a former special education teacher at Union Grove Middle School, is said to have assaulted students between 2018 and 2020. Parents were not notified of the suspected abuse at the time and only found out after a human resources audit five years later.
Reports list the following accusations against Goins:
- Playing with a student who was known to become aroused easily and who would masturbate. She allegedly made teaching assistants change him after “finishing,” which is said to have occurred more than 50 times.
- Locking herself in a bathroom alone with a student, despite it being against district policies
- Touching a student’s penis while assisting him in using the restroom
Despite those accusations, the district is said to have “quietly transferred” her to a different school instead of firing her.
Fred Goins, Kathryn’s father and a former member of the Blount County Board of Education, is also being sued.
He is alleged to have made unannounced visits to classrooms in an attempt to intimidate staff members into keeping quiet about the abuse.
Kathryn is also said to have told coworkers “there is nothing you can do” because of her father’s position.
Current Director of Schools Justin Ridge called for her to be fired after learning of the allegations.
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and the TBI are investigating.
