A former Palm Beach County student is suing the School District of Palm Beach County and a teacher from Watson B. Duncan Middle School, alleging years of grooming and sexual abuse while she was a minor. The civil complaint seeks damages and accuses district officials of ignoring or failing to investigate warning signs that allegedly allowed the abuse to continue, even after concerns surfaced and before the teacher’s arrest on multiple sex-abuse charges last year.
The lawsuit, filed in the 15th Judicial Circuit, names former Duncan Middle School math teacher Christopher Withers and the School District of Palm Beach County as defendants. It brings negligence claims, alleges violations of Title IX and raises constitutional issues, according to a press release from Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, the firm representing the plaintiff.
Withers was arrested on March 31, 2025, and is facing multiple counts of lewd and lascivious behavior and related sex-offense charges, according to court records. Local10 reported that he faces 17 counts, and police say the victim told investigators the sexual contact started when she was 13. In a police-recorded phone call described by WPBF, Withers apologized and told her, “In my opinion, we had a beautiful relationship that I ruined.”…