The scope of the federal civil rights lawsuit against the Oconto Falls School District and its school board continues to broaden, with a growing number of plaintiffs, witnesses and potential victims, according to the second amended complaint approved March 31 by a federal judge.
The amended complaint bumps the number of students who are choosing to be named to six with the addition of an Oconto Falls parent who is representing a potential victim. Brianne Carriveau claims a minor was sexually harassed and later abused by two school district employees.
Carriveau said a minor made a sexual harassment report in 2023 that was publicly dismissed by the school district in a press release. Carriveau had also posted about the alleged harassment on a “Parents of Oconto Falls” Facebook group, which she moderates, and had received over 100 comments from parents confirming similar incidents, according to the complaint.
Because of that, the complaint states, her daughter was scared to speak up when she was later abused by Gayle Gander, an Oconto Falls employee who was charged with sexual misconduct in January.
In addition to the new information Carriveau details, four other former students submitted new declarations alleging sexual abuse or inappropriate relationships.
“We send our children to school to learn, grow, and reach their full potential. Schools have a responsibility to provide a safe and nurturing environment,” Disparti Law Group founder Larry Disparti said in a news release. “The allegations emerging from Oconto Falls suggest a serious breach of that trust.”
The amended complaint also names several new witnesses and names all district employees from previous complaints.
The original lawsuit, filed March 11, and its initial amended complaint had only used pseudonyms for several of the now-named district employees. The named district employees are included to provide greater details surrounding the alleged sexual abuse and harassment. These employees are not defendants in the lawsuit.
The school district and school board remain the lawsuit’s sole defendants for consistently failing to investigate claims of sexual abuse perpetrated against students by school district employees for more than 15 years.
The original complaint alleges at least nine different district employees groomed, sexually harassed or sexually assaulted as many as 19 victims from 2005 to 2025, and that more employees did nothing to prevent it. The lawsuit is filed against the district and school board for “allowing a climate [of abuse] to flourish.”
It named three victims – Amanda Watzka, Brooke LaCount and Grace Williams – who say the district should have intervened or filed a police report when they, as students, reported abuse or assault by district staff.
Attorney Stadler Sacks, who representing the school district, said the new complaint makes “redundant, immaterial, impertinent and scandalous” allegations, according to an email included in the complaint.
“Given that all the claims identified by Ms. Watzka and Ms. LaCount are clearly barred by the applicable statutes of limitations, the only purpose to filing such a complaint would be for an improper purpose, such as to harass the District,” a portion of the email states.
The suit names three alleged district employee perpetrators: Brynn Larsen, Gayle Gander and a teacher who hasn’t been charged. Gander was charged with sexual misconduct in January and Larsen pleaded no contest to sexual assault of a student in 2021. The complaints say the third teacher groomed and sexually assaulted Watzka.
In a statement to staff and families, the district said the allegations have either been previously investigated and addressed, investigated and found to lack merit or have not been brought up.
The statement cast doubt on legal counsel Cass Casper, who filed the suit against the district and its school board, and said it was reviewing and investigating the allegations included in the civil suit. It also said board members support the victims.
“The Board asks the Oconto Falls School District community to understand that merely because an attorney makes allegations in a complaint, does not mean all of those allegations are factually accurate,” a portion of the statement reads. “We will continue efforts to provide a safe and nurturing educational environment for all of our students.”
This story was updated to meet our standards.
Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@usatodayco.com or on X at @nadiaascharf.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: New allegations surface in Oconto Falls abuse lawsuit
Reporting by Nadia Scharf, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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