Tort Notice filed against Twin Lakes School Corporation after band teacher accused of sexually harassing student

WHITE COUNTY, Ind. — Legal action is being pursued against the Twin Lakes School Corporation in Monticello amid allegations that a middle school teacher sexually harassed a 15-year-old student.

According to previous reports, 31-year-old Timothy Bulow was arrested on April 3 and preliminarily charged with three felony counts of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor. All of the charges are Level 4 Felonies. Bulow was previously employed as a band director at Roosevelt Middle School in Monticello when the allegations initially surfaced. He also worked as an assistant band director at Twin Lakes High School.

Debbie Metzger, the school corporation’s superintendent, previously told FOX59/CBS4 that an investigation was launched on April 1 after a report was filed against Bulow alleging that he had engaged in an “inappropriate relationship” with a student.

Metzger confirmed the teacher has been suspended as a recommendation to terminate his employment with the school corporation is pending.

According to the Tort Claim Notice, the parents of the victim accused the district of failing to protect students from Bulow after knowing that he “had a history of grooming and sexually harassing female students.”

The Tort Claim Notice accused the school district of negligence for “hiring and failing to supervise Bulow.” The parents go on to state that they had shared their concerns about Bulow’s alleged inappropriate behavior last year, but accused the school district of doing nothing to address them.

The victim was “subjected to an ongoing pattern of grooming and sexual
harassment by Bulow which included him making sexual statements to her, sending her text
messages and photographs, physically touching her in a sexual manner and engaging in sexual
conduct with her,” according to the Tort Claim Notice.

The parents are seeking $700,000 in damages for each instance of alleged abuse and changes to the school’s polices related to hiring, training and supervising employees.

“We can’t always be there to protect our daughters, but school is the last place that
parents should have to worry about them being abused,” said Tom Blessing, an attorney representing the victim’s family. “This case is a textbook example of a teacher grooming one of his students. All grooming cases are disturbing, but the fact that it was a teacher who we’re supposed to trust with our children is just appalling.”

The Tort Claim Notice also called for the resignations of Bulow’s immediate supervisor and the district’s director of human resources. The notice calls for the district to provide sexual harassment training to all employees, parents and students with a focus on preventing staff/student grooming and ways to determine if a child is being groomed.

Online court records indicate Bulow is scheduled to appear in White Superior Court on Sept. 9 for a jury trial.