Haysville, KANSAS

Legal Decision

Dec 18, 2007 - A lawsuit against Haysville public schools over a former teacher who molested and raped students will proceed for four of the five girls, Sedgwick County District Judge William Woolley ruled this afternoon.

The school district had argued it shouldn't be held liable for anything Matthew Williamson did with the girls off campus. But Woolley said that under the law the district's obligation to supervise its employees extends beyond the school grounds.

BACKGROUND Williamson pleaded guilty April 2006 to rape, aggravated indecent liberties, indecent liberties and unlawful sexual relations with a student. He is serving a 13-year prison sentence. He is in prison at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility and will be eligible for parole in 2017. All five of the girls were 14 to 16 years old. Williamson was 27.

It is a felony in Kansas for a teacher to have sex with a student who is 17 or younger.