Former Peabody Gym Teacher Accused Of Sexual Assault In Civil Suit

PEABODY, MA — A class action lawsuit filed on behalf of 13 former Peabody students claims they were sexually assaulted as boys in middle school and junior high school by a gym teacher and coach who worked for the district for nearly three decades.

Boston attorneys Carmen Durso and Michael Heineman named the City of Peabody and James Toltz, now 80 years and living in Florida, as the defendants in the suit that Durso said was filed on Tuesday. The suit accuses Toltz, who worked in the district from 1969 to 1996, of sexual abuse and accuses the city of "negligence for failing to properly train, supervise and discipline Toltz over a period of 34 years, during which time Toltz sexually abused in excess of 13 minor students in Massachusetts."

Durso said in a Zoom news conference held Wednesday morning that he believes there are more victims and the lawsuit was filed as a class action to allow them to join it if they choose to do so.

"All of the people who are plaintiffs in this case have all expressed one thing to me — how important it is to have this come out regardless of what the end result of the lawsuit is," he said. "For them, it is giving everybody who was victimized by this man the opportunity to come forward and speak about it."

The 120-count suit, filed in Middlesex Superior Court, and the anonymous victims and their representatives who spoke during the news conference, accused Toltz of watching young boys while they showered after gym class, conducting genital exams under false pretenses, inappropriate touching, spanking and fondling, offering drugs and of sexual assault.

Durso said the boys ranged in age from 11 to 16 during the time of the abuse at JFK Junior High School and Higgins Middle School.

"Over a 27-year period, we're confident that there are more than 13 people," Durso said. "We know of other people who have spoken to us and have chosen, for one reason or another, to not necessarily be part of the lawsuit but who have offered to testify about what they saw and what happened to them.

"Our clients have observed other kids being treated the same way by Toltz. So we know there is a lot out there and the likelihood that it is a significant number given the number of years and the circumstances is very high."

Durso said the city was not informed of the civil suit before it was filed.

"There have been some investigations in the past and they certainly have to have been aware that there are some questions about Toltz," he said. "I don't know the extent of those. That's one of the things that we will look at in discovery."

The Peabody Mayor's Office did not immediately respond to a Patch email seeking comment on the suit.

The suit seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages for injuries, damages, as well as pain and suffering endured.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)