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7 former students at N.J. school sue for $50M, claim teacher sexually abused them decades ago

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Seven former students from the West Essex Regional School District have filed suit against the district, claiming a now-deceased teacher sexually abused them when they attended middle school.

Five of the lawsuits were filed Monday, alleging the man, who was a history teacher at West Essex Middle School in North Caldwell, abused them between 1977 and 1985. The lawsuit states the victims were all age 13 when the alleged abuse began.

Two lawsuits filed in August allege that the teacher sexually assaulted them repeatedly when they were students in 1978.

NJ Advance Media is not naming the former teacher because he is no longer alive and it’s unclear if he was ever criminally charged. A lawyer for the family’s estate could not be found.

The lawsuits claim the teacher “created and permitted a severe, pervasive and persistently sexually hostile environment.” The former teacher is accused of engaging in “flagrantly lewd and inappropriate conduct” and of sexually abusing and sexually assaulting students.

The accused, who lived in Morris County, died in 2014 at the age of 92. His estate is named as a defendant in the lawsuits.

The lawsuits allege the district, which serves students from Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell and Roseland, failed to properly screen or investigate complaints of sexual abuse and of “minimizing, ignoring or excusing inappropriate or questionable behavior.”

The men are each seeking more than $50 million in damages, according to the complaints, which were filed in Superior Court of Essex County.

Damion Macioci, district superintendent, did not immediately respond on Thursday to a request for comment.

Even though the alleged abuse occurred decades ago, New Jersey in 2019 passed a law expanding the amount of time victims of sexual assault are allowed to bring a lawsuit.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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