Wilton, BOE, Pursue Summary Judgment in Molestation Suit

WILTON, CT — The Board of the Education and the town have made a motion for reargument and reconsideration of a court's decision to deny a motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit brought by a family that claims their son was molested by a former school employee.

Judge Mary Elizabeth Sommer issued her denial on Aug. 2 in the lawsuit John Doe PPA v. Wilton Board of Education Et Al. The family alleges that their son, who was four at the time, was molested by former Miller-Driscoll preschool aide Eric Von Kohorn. Mother, father and child are listed as plaintiffs in the case.

The complaint, filed Oct. 14, 2016, alleges Von Kohorn took photographs of the boy while his pants were down in the bathroom. A 2012 complaint alleged Von Kohorn had sexually molested a girl student in the preschool.

Van Kohorn had been the subject of a state police investigation during this same period, which culminated in his arrest on child pornography charges. He was released from prison in October 2017, after serving two years of a six-year suspended sentence on a count of illegal possession of child pornography in the second degree.

In the motion filed on August 16, the attorney for the town and the Board of Education claim that it is undisputed that there is no evidence that any adult "who had supervisory liability saw Eric von Kohorn take Boy Doe alone into the bathroom. In addition, there is no evidence that knowledge by an adult that Eric von Kohorn took Boy Doe in a group, along with other boys, to the bathroom and supervised them would constitute an imminent harm.

A jury trial remains scheduled for Dec. 11.