PORTLAND – A lawyer representing Craig Howland is denying claims that the former Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School guidance counselor and Gay Straight Alliance leader sexually assaulted a student in 2001.
Lenny Sharon of Sharon, Leary & DeTroy in Portland said he expects to respond to a lawsuit filed against Howland by former student Matthew Higgins by the end of the week. In addition to denying the claim of sexual assault, Sharon said, he and his client may take their own legal action.
“We’re considering counter-claiming against him as well, for malicious prosecution and defamation,” he said.
The town of Oxford, the high school and SAD 17 also were named in the suit. All three have denied any wrongdoing in responses filed Jan. 13 in the case of the school and school district, and Jan. 21 in the case of the town.
Higgins, 20, now of Portland, filed the lawsuit in the Cumberland County Superior Court on Jan. 3. His complaint alleges that he was assaulted by Howland eight to 11 times in 2001, when he was 16 and still a resident of Oxford Hills.
Higgins said he was kicked out of his parents’ home after telling them he was gay in 2000, and lived with friends and a high school teacher before staying with Howland, formerly of Lovell, between January and June 2001.
He is suing for unspecified damages and has claimed Howland, the town of Oxford, the high school and school district had a responsibility to protect him from the “severe emotional distress” he suffered as a result of the alleged assault. The lawsuit states that Higgins was a minor and, due to Howland’s age and position of authority, was “unable to legitimately consent to (Howland’s) actions.”
This is not the first time Higgins has brought a complaint against Howland. He reported the alleged assault to school authorities in 2002, according to his attorney, Sean Farris of Farris, Heselton, Ladd & Bobrowiecki in Gardiner. Farris has said a hearing held by the SAD 17 Board of Directors as a result was handled poorly, and Higgins was asked inappropriate questions about his sexual history as well as Howland’s genitalia.
Sharon represented Howland during the 2002 hearing. The school district, he said, “handled this very seriously.”
SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman recommended Howland be fired, but the Board of Directors decided against the recommendation, Sharon said.
He pointed out that no criminal charges were filed as a result of the complaint.
“I’m very surprised by the lawsuit, frankly,” he stated.
Sharon confirmed that Howland today lives in New Hampshire and teaches at the Kingswood Middle School in Wolfeboro.
Neither Higgins nor Howland could be reached for comment. Eastman declined to comment at the request of the school and school district’s attorney, Elizabeth Stouder of Richardson, Whitman, Large & Badger in Portland, who also could not be reached for comment.
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