School District Sued Over Alleged Sex Abuse by Teacher

May 5, 2020

Last month, Phillips Law Group’s Glendale sexual abuse attorneys filed a civil lawsuit against Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) and Sun Valley Elementary School teacher Rick Ordway. The lawsuit claims PUSD allowed Ordway to openly engage in sexually predatory behavior and grooming of young students in his classroom.

The attorneys at PLG filed the lawsuit on behalf of one of the victims, an 11-year-old girl, and her family ”“ there are multiple victims, as Ordway, who is 44 years old, is facing 24 charges of molestation and sex abuse of students. Most of these allegations are for crimes that allegedly happened between Aug. 1, 2018 and May 7, 2019.

The lawsuit is holding the school district responsible for Ordway’s actions. “Ordway exhibited sexual predator behavior that was obvious to other employees and supervisors,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says the school district is guilty of negligent supervision and retention of Ordway, given his behavior. The district did not use reasonable care to identify and report sexually predatory behavior. The lawsuit is also claiming that the school district violated this young girl’s constitutional rights by perpetrating policies and procedures that allowed Ordway to continue this misconduct over an entire school semester.

For example, the lawsuit alleges that employees saw Ordway flirt with students between nine and 10 years old. He bought students expensive gifts, had students sit on his lap, and engage in other behaviors that rational people would deem grossly inappropriate.

Notifying Police

An attorney for the school district did not comment on the allegations in the lawsuit but said Sun Valley Elementary School notified law enforcement as soon as they had a report of something inappropriate however the allegations of the lawsuit indicate that the school knew for months that there was inappropriate behavior occurring while Ordway was still allowed to teach.

Ordway was put on administrative leave on May 7th and he denied the allegations in a May 14 interview with the Peoria Police. He pleaded non-guilty of all 24 criminal charges he is facing.

Have You or a Loved One Been a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Call today to schedule a free, confidential and no-obligation legal consultation to discuss the situation with a licensed attorney.

The Peoria child sexual abuse lawyers at Phillips Law Group have extensive legal knowledge and a proven track record of recovering fair compensation for victims throughout Arizona. We are also able to help organize counseling and other support services for you or your loved one.

We are here to help, and we take these cases on contingency, so there are no upfront fees or costs. We are not paid unless you receive compensation at the end of the legal process.

Call Phillips Law Group today to set up your free legal consultation. 1-800-706-3000