School ‘turned blind eye’ to well-known pedo teacher: lawsuit

A former West Virginia teacher convicted of molesting a 14-year-old girl also kept a list of the “Top 10” most attractive middle school students and was caught masturbating on school property multiple times, a new lawsuit claims.

The civil action contends that school administrators “turned a blind eye” to Ronald Paul Harris’ perverted behavior during his time as a history teacher and basketball coach at Oak Glen Middle School in New Cumberland in the decade before his sexual abuse conviction.

The 63-year-old is serving a 10-to-20-year sentence after admitting in September to abusing a high school freshman in 2011 who was working after school as a classroom helper.

The now 27-year-old survivor is suing the Hancock County West Virginia Board of Education and then-middle school principal David Smith — who has since been promoted to high school principal. The victim claims that school officials failed to protect her from the teacher. 

Her lawyers told The Post they believe there may be other victims, adding that they hope E.H.’s “courage” inspired other survivors to come forward.

“This case is a parent’s worst nightmare,” said attorney Mary Pat Statler in a statement.

“To learn that your child was groomed and sexually abused by a teacher is beyond awful. It’s made even more terrible knowing that the administrator at the time of the abuse was in a position to stop the abuse or prevent future instances of abuse and instead turned a blind eye.”

The complaint alleges that Harris began “grooming” the girl — referred to in court documents as E.H. — while she was a student in his 8th-grade history class before inviting her to work as his after-school helper once she graduated to high school.

The 14-year-old victim claims Harris “began to express his romantic love and sexual feelings” for her shortly after she started the job and said he was saving money so they could elope when she turned 18.

“Shortly after (she) began visiting defendant Harris on OGMS property during her ninth-grade year Harris began sexually abusing her,” the 19-page complaint alleges. “Defendant Harris would take (her) into the storage closet of the media room, which was connected to his regular classroom by an interior door, and request that (she) remove her shirt and proceeded to remove his own shirt.”

The creep is accused of sexually abusing the young girl on at least 10 occasions.

In at least one instance, Smith caught Harris with E.H. inside a locked classroom when he was conducting routine checks at the end of the school day, the complaint alleges.

Rather than try and get past the locked door, Smith simply walked away.

Harris purportedly chased after his boss with his victim in tow and “nervously” carried on a brief conversation with Smith.

“Harris was profusely sweating, visibly and audibly nervous and outwardly anxious, yet defendant Smith did not address either the locked door situation … or his extremely odd, guilty behavior,” the complaint states. 

Witnesses interviewed by E.H.’s lawyers said it was “common knowledge” that Harris had masturbated multiple times on school grounds and kept a “Top 10 List” of the most attractive middle school students. 

Despite the deviant behavior, the school is accused of “facilitating” E.H.’s abuse for refusing to keep a close on Harris.

The lawsuit also points out that Harris’ marriage to a former student should have “put them on notice of his character and moral turpitude.”

Thomas E. Buck of the Wheeling law firm Bailey & Wyant, who is representing the school district, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.