Second Leung Victim Nets $1M From Concord School District Insurer

CONCORD, NH — A third former Concord High School student has settled with the insurer of SAU 8, the Concord School District, in connection with the Primo “Howie” Leung teacher-rape case.

The woman, who was seen being kissed and hugged by Leung by other students on East Side Drive in December 2018, which led to the entire case unfolding, received $1 million from Primex, according to Jack Dunn, the district’s business manager. The settlement was made in February.

The settlement amount and documents were only released after Concord NH Patch made a right-to-know request for the information earlier this month.

This is the third settlement connected to the case, with the entire four-year saga costing taxpayers and the district’s insurer more than $2 million in settlements, legal fees, payouts to former employees, and investigations.

The family of Fabiana McLeod, currently involved in a $100 million lawsuit against Leung and the Fessenden School in Newton, Massachusetts, where he was accused of raping and assaulting the girl during two summer programs, reached a $545,000 settlement with the district’s insurer in February 2020. Another settlement by the district, $15,000, was awarded to the Goble family in June 2019. Their daughter, Ana, accused Leung of inappropriate coziness with female students at Rundlett Middle School years before and was suspended from school for gossiping.

It is unknown when the second case was raised. In September 2021, after settling with the McLeod family, the district said no other active settlements were being negotiated with any other victims connected to the investigation.

“There are no pending claims against the district with regard to Mr. Leung’s misconduct,” Dunn said Monday when asked if the district and its insurer were negotiating any other settlements.

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Jim Richards, the president of the school board, said members did not know about the agreement in February since the district's insurer paid the settlement. The district was aware Primex was negotiating with the former student but did not know the details. A copy of the agreement was given to Kathleen Murphy, the district's superintendent, on Monday.

"The superintendent informed the school board of the agreement on Monday evening and released the redacted agreement to the media shortly after informing the board on Monday," he said. "The settlement was paid entirely by Primex."

Leung faces two counts of aggravated rape of a child, one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over after being accused of sexually assaulting the girl at an English language learner summer program in 2015 and 2016 at the Fessenden School. The girl was an unpaid helper during the summer programs.

The trial was scheduled to have discovery motions in May, a final jury conference in June, and a jury trial to begin in late June, according to a court clerk. However, in late June, the case was continued, pushing the final trial conference back to Dec. 16, with a jury trial set to begin on Jan. 17, 2023.

Meghan Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office, declined comment about the postponement or the state of the case.

Leung surrendered his teaching credential in October 2019 and will no longer be able to teach anywhere in the United States regardless of the trial’s outcome. State law was amended, too, banning educators from having relationships with students, regardless of age.

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The Fessenden school, according to reports in the Boston Globe from 2016 and 2018, has had sexual assault and abuse issues in the past.

According to the $100 million lawsuit, there is potentially at least a third assault victim identified in the case.

Concord police, while conducting its investigations in 2019, believed there were more than two victims involved with Leung.

No charges have been filed against him in Concord.

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