BCPS and ex-staff sued over decade of child abuse

A former Burke County student identified only as Jane Doe has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit accusing the Burke County Public Schools system and several of its former leaders of enabling years of sexual abuse committed by elementary school teacher Michael Andrew Alexander.

The 46-page complaint, filed Oct. 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville, names as defendants the Burke County Board of Education, former school Superintendent David Burleson, former Glen Alpine Elementary principal Kathy Amos, and former Hildebran Elementary principal Wendi Craven in addition to the convicted Alexander, who is represented separately from the other defendants.

It alleges “negligence and deliberate indifference” that, according to the lawsuit, allowed Alexander’s abuse of dozens of elementary students to persist unchecked for more than a decade — even after parents and students raised alarms.

Alexander, now serving nearly 50 years in prison, admitted to abusing multiple elementary school-age girls between 2001 and 2012, filming some of his crimes inside school classrooms, and distributing the footage through an international child pornography ring.

After Alexander’s arrest, a subsequent investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) revealed he had abused at least 33 confirmed Burke County students and perhaps as many as 50 in total.

The new 15-count federal lawsuit aims to hold Burke County school officials accountable for systemic failures that, Doe’s attorney argues, “created the conditions for unimaginable harm.”

The sweeping lawsuit covers federal civil rights, constitutional violations, and state-level tort claims for negligence and abuse. It was filed by Doe’s attorney, Peter C. Grenier, of the Washington, D.C.-based firm, Grenier Law Group, PLCC.

“Our client has had some of the most devastating emotional and psychological impact, I think, of almost any sex abuse client that I’ve ever represented,” Grenier said. “My client has gotten to a point where she’s ready to confront this and to confront the people that she believes are accountable for what happened to her.”

A dark chapter in Burke County’s school system

The federal lawsuit resurrects a 2012 Burke County criminal trial during which Alexander pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree sex offenses against a child and three counts of indecent liberties with a child.

Alexander committed the crimes during his tenure between 2001 and 2012 when he was employed as a third- and fifth-grade teacher in Glen Alpine and Hildebran elementary schools.

Alexander is currently serving two consecutive prison terms totaling nearly 49½ years with a projected release date of June 3, 2052. Each term carried a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 24 years and 9 months.

The case is being brought now because the plaintiff was a minor when the abuse occurred. Federal civil rights and Title IX of the Education Amendments allow for flexible filing periods when the victim is a child or was psychologically unable to file earlier. Doe is now an adult and ready to pursue the case.

The suit aims to assign responsibility to the whole school system, not just damages pertaining to one teacher, making federal jurisdiction appropriate.

Burke County Public Schools stated in a prepared release, “While we cannot comment on the specifics of this lawsuit, at the time of the 2012 case, law enforcement and internal investigations determined that the teacher acted alone … Burke County Public Schools will respond to this legal matter through the appropriate court process. In the meantime, we reaffirm our commitment to student safety and to working diligently to foster a school environment that prioritizes the well-being of every child in our care.”

The defendants “failed to prevent the sexual assaults of Ms. Doe,” even after other students and parents complained to BCPS faculty about Alexander’s “obvious misconduct towards young students,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit directly accuses the defendants of creating a danger for Ms. Doe and other BCPS students through unclear policies such as Burleson’s “funny tummy” test — an intuition-based reporting method that relied on the beliefs of fellow employees as to what defined misconduct — even though “no BCPS teacher or principal was ever informed” of the funny tummy test.

The lawsuit alleges that former principal Amos failed to seriously investigate a mother’s complaint about Alexander taking age-inappropriate photos of her daughter, failed to file the concerns in his folder or stop Alexander from teaching in the BCPS school system. The complaint lists the eventual transfer to Hildebran Elementary School, which placed him under the supervision of school principal Craven.

Craven gave Alexander free rein of the school as the theater teacher, ignoring the unusual dress of female students and Alexander’s “open displays of physical affection for young female students,” according to the lawsuit.

“[Alexander] was allowed to be in Burke County Public Schools for 12 years,” Grenier said. “The signs were all there.”

International child pornography ring

In June 2012, Europol, the European police agency, uncovered an international child pornography ring based in Spain. Investigators found videos and photos of young girls from Burke County Public Schools performing various sexual acts that had been recorded inside local elementary school classrooms and shared worldwide.

In the discovery, a video of Doe wearing a “clearly identifiable Hildebran T-shirt” prompted Europol to contact the FBI, who alerted the NCSBI.

Alexander’s recordings of abuse eventually resulted in his identification by the SBI during their investigation.

The investigation led to the arrest of Alexander, then a third-grade teacher at Hildebran Elementary School. He was held on $1 million bond, according to news reports from the time.

Doe was among five students Alexander admitted by name to sexually abusing during the initial criminal investigation, the new lawsuit states.

“A medical expert who evaluated Ms. Doe concluded to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that Ms. Doe suffered multiple episodes of abuse, based on a review of documents received, Alexander’s admissions, and the particular nature of Ms. Doe’s memory defects, which are typical of victims of trauma,” according to the lawsuit.

Because the lawsuit cites federal laws, it was filed in the U.S. District Court, rather than in Burke County’s civil court. While Grenier is representing the plaintiff, the same defense lawyer from some of the previous civil suits will be representing the defendants — aside from Alexander.

The defense’s lawyer, Andrew “Andy” Santaniello, said, “There was a series of similar lawsuits brought by Grenier and his firm about 10-plus years ago. So, we do have some history and we have been working with Mr. Grenier prior to the filing of the lawsuit, but we are, right now, still in the initial phases of deciding what our strategy will be.”

Despite a nearly 2,200-signature change.org petition against her appointment, Amos has worked as the Yancey County Superintendent since 2019. Amos earned the title of North Carolina Western Region Superintendent of the Year this year.

In 2009, the Burke County Board of Education ended Burleson’s contract. He retired from the Avery County superintendent position in 2017.

Craven served on the Burke County Board of Education until she lost a reelection campaign in March 2024, ending her tenure in November last year. She is currently the principal at Hickory High School.

Attorney Peter Grenier and his team’s record of verdicts includes the only successful lawsuit from the Columbine High School shootings and an $11 million settlement in the Virginia Tech massacre cases.