DEDHAM (MA)
MetroWest Daily News [Framingham MA]
October 14, 2021
By Norman Miller
A Northborough woman who alleges she was raped by a former Hudson middle school teacher has filed a civil lawsuit in Norfolk Superior Court.
The 24-year-old woman names Caitin Harding, 37, of Wellesley, in the suit, as well as the town of Hudson, former Hudson Superintendent of Schools Kevin Lyons, former JFK Middle School Principal Brian Daniels, Assistant Principal Matthew Gaffney and a sixth defendant who has yet to be identified.
“Plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer in the future: severe and permanent mental distress and emotional injuries, including corroboration of said mental distress and emotional injuries,” according to the lawsuit filed by the woman’s lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian of Boston.
Harding was arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in April and charged with rape of a child by force; three counts of aggravated rape of a child; and five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14.
The incidents occurred while the woman was a student and Harding was a teacher. They met when the student was in sixth grade in 2008, when Harding was the then 11-year-old girl’s homeroom teacher and history teacher, according to the lawsuit.
During that time, the girl would often stay after class to assist Harding and to “socialize” with her, and during that time frame, Harding began to show “affection” to the girl, touching her repeatedly on the arm and shoulder and giving her hugs, according to the lawsuit. They then began sharing personal emails with each other.
At one point, school administration members became concerned about the amount of time Harding and the girl were spending with one another other, and the girl was moved to a homeroom classroom in a different section of the school to create distance, according to the lawsuit.
It was later learned there were concerns at the school regarding another student.
“Upon information and belief, an administrator or administrators at JFK Middle School conducted a meeting with the parents of at least one other girl who was a student at JFK Middle School in response to JFK Middle School administration’s concerns about that girl spending too much time with Harding,” according to the lawsuit.
The school administration, the suit alleges, never investigated or disciplined Harding in connection with her alleged behavior toward the girls.
In the 2009-10 school year, Harding began giving the first girl rides to places and exchanged text messages where she told the girl she “wanted and loved” her, according to the lawsuit.
In 2010, when the girl was 13 years old, Harding “engaged in explicit sexual behavior and lewd and lascivious behavior with the plaintiff,” according to the lawsuit. There were at least 10 incidents that involved activities ranging from kissing to rape.
“As a result of defendant Harding’s explicit sexual behavior and lewd and lascivious conduct with plaintiff, plaintiff suffers, has suffered, and will continue to suffer in the future severe emotional distress and physical harm manifested by objective symptomology, including, but not limited to, crying, depression, anxiety, panic attacks and suicidal ideation,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks money for pain and suffering, lost wages and medical costs. No dollar amount was listed.
None of the defendants could be reached for comment.
Hudson Executive Assistant Thomas Gregory said Thursday that the town was not aware that a lawsuit had been filed. It can take several days for a lawsuit to be served to a defendant.
At Harding’s arraignment in April, during which she was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children younger than 18 and to not work or volunteer with children, her lawyer denied the allegations, calling them “outright lies.”
No hearing date has been set in the civil case.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.