On November 10, 2022, Horowitz Law filed a lawsuit in Manatee County Circuit Court against The Broach School, located in Bradenton, Florida, after former private school teacher, Kassandra Moore, was arrested for sexual battery of a minor student. Moore was first arrested three years ago for having sex on multiple occasions with her 15-year-old male student. The now 18-year-old stated in court that after the ordeal began, he spent a year and a half without leaving his bedroom and even attempted to take his own life. Moore was sentenced to 20 years in jail followed by two years of house arrest, and then eight years of sexual predator probation after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual battery of a minor and one count of transmission of harmful material to a minor. The Broach School is owned by a Children's Educational Services, Inc. in Jacksonville.
Attorney Adam Horowitz remarked, "Teachers and coaches are entrusted to facilitate learning and support the educational needs of their students. Someone who sexually violates young children has no place working in the school system. Any school in which such a crime is committed should take responsibility if they fail to properly screen potential teachers and protect their students."
Allegations in the Complaint
Kassandra Moore was arrested in June 2019 after Bradenton police conducted a two-month investigation. According to the arrest affidavit, the victim's classmate went to the school principal with information about Moore and the teen, including a suggestive and flirtatious conversation thread shared between Moore and the victim over Instagram. The school then notified the police in April 2019.
Kassandra Moore, now 33, was a teacher at The Broach School, a private K-12 school in Bradenton with a focus on students with special needs, including learning disabilities and emotional difficulties. Multiple media reports said that Moore was newly married and sometimes used her married name of Kassandra Thomas. The arrest affidavit states that the interaction between Moore and her 15-year-old ninth-grade student started with questions about a homework assignment but escalated to sexual intercourse. Texts by Moore read, "I wanted to just grab you and kiss you, but I didn't want to make the first move, and you reject me."
Investigation of Kassandra Moore
During the investigation, Bradenton Police spoke to the teen victim. He showed investigators several screenshots of lewd "selfie-style" pictures that Moore sent him, including pictures of her in lingerie with her body parts exposed and posed sexually. He also told detectives that the two arranged to meet in several locations during after-school hours, including Moore's car and at the G.T. Bray Park - where they engaged in sexual acts.
When investigators approached Moore, she attempted to coerce a colleague into providing a false alibi for her and also sent someone a message asking how to remotely delete messages and images from another person's phone. Her colleague did not corroborate her alibi and instead assisted with the investigation. Moore provided a seven-page statement to the school and police, including purported alibis for each allegation. None of the alibis provided proved to be true, according to police.
The 15-year-old's version of events was substantiated through DNA evidence after they recovered a used condom from G.T. Bray Park and matched the genetic profile to Moore. The investigators also obtained video surveillance taken at the school, which clearly showed Moore and the boy together in her car. As a result, they were able to determine that Moore and the boy had sex four times between March 23 and March 29, 2019. Moore was placed on administrative leave after The Broach School administrators received the allegations. She was fired within days of the officers launching the investigation.
Schools are educational institutions in which children should be able to learn and develop skills in a nurturing environment. It is expected that they are safe from violence, bullying, harassment, and sexual abuse. Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse in schools and other educational settings. If you or a loved one was sexually abused, raped, or sexually molested by a principal, teacher, or another school employee, contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer, Adam Horowitz, at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.