A lawsuit filed on Nov. 18, 2025, against the Steelville R-3 School District in Crawford County Circuit Court alleges that an elementary school student was sexually assaulted by another student during P.E. class and that school officials failed to act on behavioral warning signs exhibited by the assaulting student before the incident happened.

The case was filed by the father of the student who was sexually assaulted. Their names are protected by law and they are instead referred to by pseudonyms in court documents. The father is called John Doe, the daughter is called Jane Doe and the alleged assaulter is called Ron Doe.

Defendants include the school district, Superintendent Steven Vetter, Principal Candice Richter, Assistant Principal Beth Setzer and P.E. teacher Jessica Eichholz.

According to the petition, on Aug. 19, the first day of school, Ron Doe allegedly acted “in an extreme and violent way which disrupted his classroom.” His teacher, Codi Harmon, met with Richter and Setzer regarding his behavior, which was recorded in her classroom notes.

“Ron Doe’s behavior included assaulting teachers and students as well as pretending to shoot others with guns,” the petition reads.

The next day, Jane Doe and Ron Doe were in P.E. class together, which was being taught and supervised by Eichholz.

“Ron Doe approached Jane Doe, kicked her, kneed her private area, grabbed her genitalia with his hands for approximately five seconds, and groped to penetrate his hand into Jane Doe before laughing and running away,” the petition alleges.

Eichholz was allegedly on her phone while the incident occurred, which could be seen in a photo of the incident.

Unaware of the incident, Harmon met again with principals Richter and Setzer about Ron Doe’s behavior at the end of that school day.

“This second meeting was held to relay that Ron Doe had further disrupted class, punched Ms. Harmon several times, assaulted other students, threatened to kill Ms. Harmon and exhibited other extreme behaviors,” the petition reads.

The next morning, Jane Doe presented a note to Harmon written by her mother about the alleged sexual assault. Harmon presented the note to Richter for her review. The petition alleges that no communication was given to Harmon for the remainder of the school day about how to respond.

As a result, Jane Doe and Ron Doe spent the school day in the classroom together and were allowed to “freely interact.”

On Aug. 22, the next day, Jane Doe’s parents removed her from the class due to the alleged sexual assault. She remained out of school until Nov. 1 so she could avoid further contact with her alleged abuser and receive trauma counseling. The case alleges she suffered emotional distress, exhibiting a fear of returning to school and of further assault.

The petition alleges that Ron Doe had a history of “violence, obstructive behavior and failure to acclimate to school conditions” that was also occurring at home. Prior to the first day of school, his caretaker allegedly made the district aware of his “disruptive behaviors, past difficulties with schooling and his possible special needs.”

John Doe claims that the school district is negligent and failed to protect its students by not removing Ron Doe from the classroom when they were aware he was a danger to students. He argues the district should have intervened earlier and followed mandatory reporting policies.

School principals, teachers and employees have a responsibility to report cases of sexual assault or abuse to law enforcement. However, according to the petition, reports of the incident were allegedly not made until after several internal administrative meetings were held to review the incident.

“Respondents were deliberately indifferent to the threat posed by Ron Doe to Petitioner Jane Doe, other students and teachers alike,” the petition reads.

John Doe is seeking $25,000 in compensatory damages.

The district filed a motion to dismiss in December, arguing the case should be thrown out because Missouri law protects public school districts and employees from negligence lawsuits under sovereign immunity and official immunity.

The school district argues it cannot be held liable for negligence claims because it is protected as a public entity by sovereign immunity. Separately, the administrators and teachers argue they are protected by official immunity, which shields public employees from liability when performing their job duties.

John Doe is challenging these claims. After additional documents and information were requested, court records show that the district allegedly withheld a large amount of what was requested, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Missouri Sunshine Law objections.

“The withheld materials include (Ron Doe’s) prior disciplinary and behavioral records, internal communications regarding the Incident, video of the Incident, the District’s Title IX investigation file and individual Respondents’ training compliance records, all of which bear directly on the foreseeability and immunity questions raised in the Motion to Dismiss,” the document reads.

John Doe also argues the school district’s request to dismiss the lawsuit is too early because evidence suggests the district had liability insurance at the time of the incident, though they originally claimed they did not in their motion to dismiss. This could remove the district’s usual legal protection from being sued, meaning the case could be allowed to move forward. 

He argues the judge should wait until all of that information is turned over before deciding whether to dismiss the case.

A hearing on the district’s request to dismiss the lawsuit was scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, at 10 a.m. in Crawford County Circuit Court, leaving the outcome of the case still uncertain. No new information was available before the Steelville Star-Crawford Mirror’s deadline.