Mother, daughter file suit against CCSD, former teachers over sexual allegations

Henderson Police Department

The Clark County School District and two former teachers accused of having sex with a Basic High School student over the 2011 Christmas break are being sued in federal court by the student and her mother.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, names CCSD and former teachers John E. Stalmach and Bambi M. Dewey as defendants.

Sandra Henderson and her daughter seek in excess of $10,000 in both compensatory and punitive damages, plus attorney’s fees.

Stalmach and Dewey were arrested in September 2012 on charges of solicitation of a minor, but the Clark County District Attorney’s Office ultimately dropped the charges.

A Henderson Police report detailed the allegations that led to the teachers’ arrest:

Dewey’s ex-husband tipped authorities to the new revelations. He told authorities he had heard from Dewey’s sister that Dewey and Stalmach had been engaging in three-way sex with a high school student.

The student, 16 at the time, initially denied having sex with Dewey and Stalmach but later admitted she was embarrassed about the acts and was afraid of her parents' reaction.

The student met the couple, whom she referred to as Ms. Dewey and Coach during the interview, when she was a student and they taught at Brown Middle School. The student told police she began spending time with the teachers out of school, including babysitting Dewey’s children and spending the night at the couple’s Henderson home.

The alleged sexual acts occurred during the 2011 Christmas break when the student was staying with the two teachers at their home. The three were drinking shots of whiskey before engaging in three-way sex.

Stalmach and the student also had sex in the home in January 2012 while Dewey was away.

In addition to drinking alcohol with the couple, the student said she smoked marijuana several times with Stalmach and Dewey, the report said.

Dewey and Stalmach denied any sexual relationship with the student or providing her alcohol and drugs, but Stalmach eventually admitted to having sex with the student, the report said.

The couple, who dated for several years, have since broken up because Stalmach would not commit to marriage, Dewey told police.

Both Dewey and Stalmach were placed on leave without pay then resigned their positions with CCSD in November 2012.

In the lawsuit, Henderson and her daughter allege CCSD had known of allegations of impropriety involving Stalmach and female students dating to the 2007-2008 school year but only moved him into different schools with warnings to stay away from former female students.

The lawsuit maintains that in 2009-10, CCSD knew of allegations Stalmach was sending sexually explicit texts and images to a separate student but failed to conduct an investigation and allowed Stalmach to continue as a teacher. The lawsuit further maintains CCSD failed to conduct a proper investigation in Dewey and Stalmach’s activities with minors, failed to protect Henderson’s daughter from the two teachers and failed to take action against the teachers despite knowledge of the “inappropriate relationships with students.”

Among the causes of action cited are violations of federal educational statutes, assault and battery upon the girl, inflicting emotional distress and negligence in hiring, supervising, retaining and failure to warn.

Henderson and her daughter, who are represented by Las Vegas attorney Robert C. Graham, ask in their complaint for a jury trial.