Nampa School District may be sued by family of victim of sexual abuse

The family of a girl who was sexually abused by her teacher is suing the Nampa School District for $1 million, according to a release from their attorney, Bruce Skaug.

Tomas Michael Fisher, 28, who was a teacher at Skyview High School, pleaded guilty Dec. 8 to felony sexual battery of a minor and is scheduled to face sentencing March 14, according to court records.

He admitted to repeatedly having unprotected intercourse with a girl around 16 to 17 years old over the course of a month and a half between April and June 2015. At one point he bought the girl a morning-after pill, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Fisher was a teacher with Skyview since 2012, and also worked as head coach for the junior varsity girls soccer team in 2014. He was arrested in September after the girl reported the incidents.

A tort claim is a precursor to a lawsuit against a public agency. In this case, the family of the girl Fisher abused argues the district didn’t do enough to prevent the abuse.

According to the release, a school counselor took note that “Fisher was having serious psychological issues.” Skaug also said the school’s dean of students once saw Fisher and the girl in a dark room with a locked door, but didn’t report the incident to his superiors or the girl’s family.

The district released a statement Wednesday morning addressing the tort claim:

“The Nampa School District received a notice of a tort claim related to criminal charges against its former employee Tomas Fisher who is scheduled to be sentenced March 14, 2016. The claim was referred to the district’s liability insurance provider and its legal team. As this is a legal matter, responses to allegations in the claim will be made through the legal process,” reads the district’s statement.

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Nampa School District may be sued by family of victim of sexual abuse."