Defendant In Pierceton Woods Lawsuit Denies Accusations
Posted
Amanda Bridgman-
A former employee of Pierceton Woods Academy named in a lawsuit alleging sexual assault has denied the accusations and demanded a jury trial.
Darby Ellis Perry was listed as one of six defendants in a civil lawsuit filed Oct. 22 in Kosciusko Circuit Court filed by a man whose minor son was a resident and alleged victim at Pierceton Woods Academy.
The suit is against Lasting Change Inc.; LifeLine Youth & Family Services Inc.; Ellis Perry; Brian Perry, an employee; Joe Gough, vice president of residential services; and Mark Terrell, CEO.
Pierceton Woods Academy, 27 Pequignot Drive, is a residential placement facility for troubled boys in grades 7 through 12. It is a privately owned Christian school.
According to court papers, the lawsuit alleges Darby engaged in a pattern of conduct over multiple years where she methodically seduced multiple children to engage in sexual acts with her on the grounds of the academy and at local venues during unsupervised outings with the minors. The lawsuit alleges the outings were permitted by LifeLine and Lasting Change, “in conformity with the institution’s lax policies.”
The suit claims both LifeLine and Lasting Change were negligent and owed a duty to prevent sexual assault against the residents under its charge.
A battery claim is charged against Darby for her alleged behavior between July and December 2019 against the minor plaintiff where she would “work to change the hearts of the residents by earning trust through promises and counseling; inducing or encouraging residents to use drugs and promising that she would not report said use to supervisors; falsifying drug screen reports for residents; repeatedly telling residents they were in the ‘circle of trust’; engaging in dirty talk and encouraging gossip of the same; kissing; full-front hugging; handholding, and allowing and encouraging hands to be placed on buttocks or other areas of her body; fondling of her body, including genitalia, and of other residents; requesting penetration from other residents; performing oral sex on the residents; and engaging in sexual intercourse with residents on their 18th birthday and beyond.”
The suit claims that in 2017, Darby was the suspect of an investigation with law enforcement involving accusations of sexual assault on another resident at the academy. Other staff members there also told of Darby’s inappropriate activities, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit further says that LifeLine and Lasting Change took no preventative actions in response to the 2017 accusations and investigations against Darby but rather promoted her and kept their “deficient policies in place to protect residents from sexual assault by its employees and agents.”
The lawsuit goes on to say that Lasting Change and LifeLine allowed Darby to take minor residents to areas of the campus that are not recorded or visible to third parties and on unsupervised outings off premises. The company allegedly did not require more than one staff member to go on the off-premise outings as a cost-saving measure, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also alleges all defendants engaged in a conspiracy to “negligently operate the Pierceton Woods facility in disregard for the well-being of its residents, namely failing to protect them from sexual assault,” even after the situation was investigated by the Indiana Department of Child Services and Pierceton Police Department, who both allegedly determined the offenses have occurred, according to the suit. The suit further claims that Darby continued to have access to the building where residents lived during the investigation.
On Friday, Ellis Perry responded to the lawsuit through her attorneys, Trenton Gill and Huston Hum, and denied all of the allegations made against her except for the fact that she was employed at Pierceton Woods and that she at one time was in an intimate relationship with Brian Perry.
Ellis Perry further demands a jury trial on all issues triable by a jury, according to court records.
On Oct. 27, the day the Times-Union published a story about the lawsuit, Tim Smith, general counsel for Lasting Change Inc. said the company was not aware of the lawsuit but that the company will “vigorously defend itself in any lawsuit based upon these unproven allegations.”
According to court documents, the company has through today to answer to the lawsuit.
