$220M class action lawsuit launched against Ottawa Catholic School Board over handling of teacher convicted of sexual assault

Two former St. Matthew Catholic High School students in Ottawa have launched a $220-million class action lawsuit against the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) and former teacher Rick Despatie, a.k.a. Rick Watkins, over the latter's sexual abuse of students and the former's handling of it.

Despatie was convicted last September of four counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual interference, two counts of criminal harassment and one count of sexual exploitation. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Despatie is appealing his conviction.

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According to a statement of claim filed in December, the suit alleges the school board received numerous complaints about Despatie's actions over many years but refused to act on them.

"The Board, and school officials at St. Matthew Catholic High School, actively and aggressively downplayed, diminished and discounted multiple complaints made about Despatie. This was due, in part, to the fact that Despatie had close, personal relationships with these school officials, including (former vice-principal) John Purificati," the statement says.

The statement of claim also accuses the school board of failing to preserve and maintain documents and records related to complaints about Despatie and that it failed to train staff about how to properly handle complaints of misconduct by a teacher.

The two main plaintiffs, identified as Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2, were both students in Despatie's Grade 7 math class, one in 2014 and one in 2016, but the class action is being extended to all students of St. Matthew Catholic High School who were sexually assaulted by Despatie between Jan. 1, 1989 and April 30, 2021.

The suit alleges Despatie groped Jane Doe #1's thighs, breasts and neck. She told her mother, who complained to vice-principal John Purificati, but the suit claims he failed to conduct an investigation or report the complaints to the school board or police.

Jane Doe #2 makes similar complaints against Despatie and reported his conduct to principal Debbie Clark, who it is alleged failed to conduct an investigation or report the complaints to the school board or police.

While identified in the suit as vice-principal and principal, respectively, of St. Matthew Catholic High School, Purificati and Clark are not named as defendants in the class action.

The suit claims that by continuing to employ Despatie when it knew or ought to have known about his actions, the Ottawa Catholic School Board breached its duty of care to the students.

Against Despatie, it says he, as a teacher, had a position of authority over the students, who were minors at the time, and had a duty of care and a fiduciary duty to act in their best interests and that his actions breached that duty.

"By making sexually inappropriate comments and by inappropriately touching and/or fondling Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 and members of the Student Class, Despatie committed the tort of sexual assault, and breached his fiduciary duty and the duty of care that he owed to Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 and the Student Class," the statement of claim says.

The lawsuit is seeking $50 million in damages from Despatie for sexual assault, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence, breach of trust and negligence. It also seeks $25 million in aggravated damages, $25 million in punitive and exemplary damages and $10 million in damages for the families of the victims.

It also seeks $50 million in damages from the OCSB for Despatie's actions and for the school board's alleged breach of the Occupiers' Liability Act and alleged spoilation of evidence. It also seeks $25 million from the board for aggravated damages, $25 million in punitive and exemplary damages, and $10 million in damages for the families.

In addition, the suit seeks from both Despatie and the OCSB special damages, including lost wages, lost earning capacity, out of pocket expenses and cost of care for the plaintiffs in an amount to be determined.

The OCSB provided the following statement to CTV News Ottawa:

"We recognize that there is an on-going lawsuit. The case has been forwarded to the Ontario School Boards Insurance Exchange (OSBIE), where a specialized legal counsel oversees the legal proceedings. The School Board does not have direct control over the timelines for these proceedings."

The school board says it intends to defend against the lawsuit.

In Despatie's statement of defence, he says the plaintiffs' claims are "egregious and vexatious" and he intends to defend against the claim. He intends to self-represent, as he claims he does not have the means to hire legal representation.

Despatie did not agree with the line in the statement of claim that says he was found guilty of sexual assault and sexual interference related to allegations from four female students who were under the age of 16 at the time of the offences.

Victims suffered ongoing pain

The statement of claim says Janes Doe #1 and #2 have suffered and continue to suffer harm caused by Despatie's actions, including emotional, physical and psychological harm, chronic anxiety, suicidal ideation and self-injury behaviour, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, intense flashbacks and nightmares, difficulties in trusting authority figures and engaging in sexual relationships, and a general loss of enjoyment of life.

"As a result of the defendants' wrongful conduct, Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 and the Student Class never reached their true academic or vocational potential, and/or experienced a delay of entry into the workforce and/or have further experienced a disrupted and unstable employment history. Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 and the Student Class have therefore suffered economic loss in the form of lost income, lost economic opportunity, and loss of competitive advantage," the claim alleges.

The suit says Despatie and the OCSB were selfish, high-handed and callous in their conduct and deserve condemnation from the court.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Graham Richardson