Child porn case in Boise School District leads to another $50M tort claim
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- Boise School District faces second $50M tort claim linked to Gavin Snow case.
- Gavin Snow, under child porn investigation, died by suicide.
- Parents allege district failed to investigate Snow's role at Cynthia Mann School.
The Boise School District is facing another $50 million tort claim from a student’s parents, the result of a special education paraprofessional — who was accused of possessing child pornography — having contact with their child.
This time, the parents of an autistic student have filed the claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, against the school district, alleging that it failed to protect “the most vulnerable children” from 22-year-old Gavin Snow. The Idaho Statesman obtained the tort claim through a public records request.
Snow “was involved in multiple instances of inappropriate behavior with more than one student in the bathroom and sensory room at Valley View,” according to the Boise School District, which implemented changes for special-education staff after an outside investigation.
Snow died by suicide in January as Boise police officers were trying to arrest him.
The parents’ attorney, Andrea Rosholt, wrote in the six-page claim that despite conducting an investigation at Valley View, the school district made “no effort” to look into potential misconduct at Cynthia Mann Elementary School — where their then-3-year-old was enrolled.
Because of this, administrators are “unable to assure parents, including those who are suing, that Snow wasn’t alone with their children and didn’t sexually exploit or abuse them. Snow also worked at Cynthia Mann, according to the claim.
The school district’s conduct left the boy’s parents with “no choice” but to pursue potential legal action, the claim said. Tort claims have to be lodged against government agencies within six months of the incident, and they preserve the filing parties’ right to file a lawsuit, but it doesn’t always mean someone will sue.
“The lack of transparency caused and continues to cause claimants extreme emotional distress,” Rosholt wrote in the claim. The Boise School District, in an email, said it remains “committed to transparency and to the safety and well-being of our students and staff,” but declined to comment on pending litigation.
Valley View parents file $50M claim against Boise School District
This was the second claim surrounding the accusations to be filed against the district. In April, the parents of a Valley View student filed a tort claim — also seeking $50 million in damages — after Snow was accused of producing pornography of their child.
The Boise Police Department began investigating Snow after school officials contacted them over concerns he was producing child porn, according to a news release from the agency. Officers spoke to Snow on Jan. 7, and he was placed on administrative leave the next day.
On Jan. 10, officers attempted to arrest him at his home off of Mountain View Drive in Boise, according to a police report. Snow attempted to flee through his backyard, and when an officer asked him to stop, he injured himself, the report said.
Months after the incident was publicized, administrators from the Boise School District and Valley View met with parents and guardians to go over the findings of an independent outside investigation and changes implemented at the elementary school and throughout the district.
“We deeply regret what happened to the children at Valley View Elementary and the damage done to the trust our public places in us every day,” the district wrote in a news release. “We recognize that no words can undo the trauma experienced by students and families, but we hope that our actions — both in the immediate aftermath and through long-term reforms — demonstrate how seriously we take this violation to our students.”
Paraprofessional also worked at Cynthia Mann, claim says
The school district allegedly told parents that the incident was “isolated” to Valley View, according to the claim.
But the child’s parents disputed that, and questioned why the investigation was focused on Valley View, despite Snow’s history of working at Cynthia Mann Elementary — where their son was enrolled.
He was allegedly hired as a teenager to work at the elementary school by the school’s then-principal, with whom he had a close relationship, the claim said. Snow’s mother also worked at Cynthia Mann.
The parents’ son, who has a severe form of autism, was a part of Cynthia Mann Elementary School’s Early Childhood Special Education Program in 2023, when Snow worked there as a paraprofessional for special-education kids, according to the claim.
The district called the child’s parents after Snow’s death, the claim stated, and advised them that he worked full time in the neighboring classroom to their child. But he would have often come into their child’s classroom to help and substituted for the other teachers when needed, according to the claim.
In a follow-up email, the school district “attempted to downplay” the child’s possible exposure to Snow by stating that he might have supported the special-ed program “occasionally,” the claim said.
It’s unclear how often Snow worked at Cynthia Mann, as the school district wasn’t able to use badge logs or payroll data to determine that, according to the claim.
The child’s parents said that prior to this year, they’d “never even heard the name Gavin Snow” from anyone at Cynthia Mann, and were never informed that he might have had contact with their son, according to the complaint.
“This information caused claimants extreme emotional distress over the fact that their minor son ... who is autistic and nonverbal, could have been sexually abused by Gavin Snow,” the claim said.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
