Broward Charter School Faces Lawsuit After Former Teacher Charged With Allegedly Molesting Children

What to Know

  • The lawsuit filed this week names Renaissance Charter School, where 35-year-old Christopher Falzone was a teacher, and its operator.
  • Falzone was arrested last week on charges that he molested the 10-year-old victim while working as a counselor in Fort Lauderdale.

Days after a Broward County elementary school teacher was arrested for alleged sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl, the parents of another alleged victim are suing the Cooper City charter school he worked at for several years.

The lawsuit filed this week names Renaissance Charter School, where 35-year-old Christopher Falzone was a third grade teacher, and its operator – Charter Schools USA – as defendants in their case.

In the suit, the victim’s mother said her daughter was a student in Falzone’s class last school year and claims she was molested throughout that time. The mother says she told the school’s principal that she learned of past incidents involving Falzone during his time as a substitute teacher in the county, but no action was taken.

"They were specifically told about those allegations of molestation, yet they did not tell the parents, did not investigate or remove Falzone. They put these girls in harm's way and they kept them there," said attorney Jeffrey Herman, who filed the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Renaissance Charter School said they are not aware of the lawsuit but said that when they were made aware of the allegations and arrest they fired Falzone.

"We are saddened by someone like Mr. Herman whose background shows that he tries to exploit school districts and charter schools for financial gain," spokesperson Colleen Reynolds said in the statement. "If this was just about victims, a reasonable attorney would advise the school before making public unsubstantiated allegations against the good works of schools or the good name of a principal."

Falzone was arrested last week on charges that he molested the 10-year-old victim while working as a counselor at Camp Live Oak in Fort Lauderdale. He was released on bond pending a trial.

A lawsuit filed last Friday against the Broward County School District alleges Falzone sexually harassed an 8-year-old girl in 2012 when he was a substitute teacher for her second grade class at Sheridan Elementary School in Hollywood – one of the incidents the mother in this most recent lawsuit cited.

Falzone began "openly grooming and sexually harassing" the victim, referred to as "Jane Doe," by "rubbing her back, hugging her and engaging in other inappropriate forms of touching," the lawsuit reads. In 2013, when the victim was nine, Falzone sexually assaulted her by touching her buttocks and fondling her, the lawsuit claims.

The suit claims Falzone also touched and sexually harassed other female students, sometimes in front of the principal. He was fired from the school in 2013 after the young victim reported the inappropriate touching, the suit said.

Falzone has been fired from the school.

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