Ex-student sues school district over abuse handling

Published 6:32 am Monday, January 28, 2019

A former student is suing his school district in Columbus, Mississippi, as well as a teacher convicted of exploiting him.

The Commercial Dispatch newspaper reports the lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of the former student, identified only as “K.B.”

Michael Jackson was a Columbus High School choir teacher in 2014 when he was accused of soliciting the 17-year-old for sex. He was sentenced in May to seven years in prison.

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The lawsuit says Jackson and the district violated his 14th Amendment rights, and that the district harassed him and his mother for reporting the abuse.

Lawyers for Jackson and the young man couldn’t be reached immediately. Superintendent Cherie Labat declined to comment.