Pate & Brody files suit against Floyd County Board of Education after student is raped by taxi driver
The Atlanta law firm Pate & Brody has filed suit against the Floyd County Board of Education alleging that a student was raped by a taxi driver which the Board recklessly hired to transport his daughter.
According to court documents, the taxi driver was an illegal alien who had been previously convicted of multiple DUIs and an aggravated felony.
The Rome News Tribune has the story.
In 2008, the Floyd County Board of Education contracted with Rome Taxi Cab Company to transport school children to and from school. One of the drivers for Rome Taxi Cab Company, Ernesto Guzman, was an illegal alien who had been previously deported from the country after being convicted of three DUIs and an aggravated felony.
On December 3, 2008, Guzman transported our client's daughter, a 14 year old girl, and three other minor school children from their school to their homes. Guzman, however, made several detours including providing the children with beer and cigarettes. He also took turns letting two of the students drive the taxi van. After dropping the three other children off at their homes, Guzman drove our client's daughter to a motel in Chattooga County where he lured her into a room and brutally raped her.
Guzman was arrested two days later by authorities in Floyd and Chattooga Counties for child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes. Federal authorities also arrested Guzman for re-entering the county after being deported. He was convicted on the federal charge in May of this year and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
The lawsuit claims that the Board was negligent in allowing Guzman to transport our client's daughter. The complaint, which was filed last Thursday, explains that the Board violated at least 24 federal and state laws, regulations and policies designed to protect our school children from predators like Guzman. The complaint goes on to state that not a single member of the Floyd County School System met with Guzman or inquired into his criminal background, immigration status, ties to the community, employment history, qualifications, competencies or credentials.
When the Board violated these numerous laws, it exposed our client's daughter to a foreseeable sexual assault. As a result, the Board is liable under Georgia law for the damages that the girl and her family sustained from the rape.
The lawsuit also names the owner of Rome Taxi Cab Company, Francisco Delacruz, as a defendant for negligently allowing Guzman to transport school children.
