A language teacher at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada Flintridge groomed and sexually abused a student for years, despite at least one administrator raising concerns with the headmaster about the inappropriate relationship, according to a new lawsuit.
The civil suit, filed by a 25-year-old woman identified as Jane Doe, alleges teacher Edward “Toby” Wagstaff began grooming her in 2013 when she was 15 years old and he was 31. Both Wagstaff and the school are named as defendants.
Vanessa Walker-Oakes, the head of school at Flintridge Preparatory, acknowledged the lawsuit in an email to parents and community members on Sunday, Nov. 12.
“In February 2023, the alum expressed concerns about an inappropriate relationship pursued by the faculty member that began when the student was in high school and continued into college,” Walker-Oakes wrote. “Upon learning of the allegations, we immediately placed the faculty member on administrative leave and contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”
Teacher fired
Flintridge Preparatory, a co-educational private school with about 530 students in grades 7 through 12, launched its own investigation and fired Wagstaff as a result, according to the email.
“While we have every reason to believe this is an isolated incident, we encourage any current or former student, faculty member, or any other member of the community to come forward and share their concerns. We will treat any information we receive confidentially,” the email stated.
The lawsuit alleges the abuse continued for so long because Flintridge Preparatory failed to properly supervise and monitor its students and teachers.
“Defendants failed to intervene when Wagstaff engaged in open and obvious grooming behavior of Plaintiff on the Flintridge Prep campus and over an email system administered by Flintridge Prep,” the lawsuit states.
Grooming allegations
Wagstaff, who taught Latin, is alleged to have frequently invited Doe to his classroom alone, even pushing her to skip other classes. The lawsuit alleges Doe would “spend hours” in his classroom before, during and after the school day. He would arrange for them to sit together on school trips and alienated her from the school community to the point where she skipped school activities, including prom, when he could not attend as well.
The two initially emailed each other through their school accounts, with Wagstaff recommending music and films that were “violent, sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate.” At one point, there were 82 emails exchanged in a single month, the lawsuit states. That later shifted to private emails, due to Wagstaff’s concerns about secrecy, with Wagstaff using code words to talk about the girl’s body.
At one point, while Doe was receiving physical therapy for a minor injury, Wagstaff asked her for the name of her physical therapist and then scheduled appointments at the same time in order to spend more time with her.
Suit claims relationship was an open secret
The lawsuit alleges Flintridge Preparatory knew, or should have known, about the Wagstaff’s actions. The relationship was an open secret, with students teasing Doe about it.
Wagstaff provided her with gifts, openly flirted with her and even engaged in sexually explicit conversations with her while other teachers and students were present, the lawsuit states.
The district did not properly train its students or teachers to recognize and report grooming, sexual harassment and abuse, according to the lawsuit. When one administrator attempted to flag the interactions between Wagstaff and the student, the school’s then-headmaster told her not to “jump to conclusions” and did not investigate further, the lawsuit alleges. The headmaster has since left the school and is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges a teacher who shared a classroom with Wagstaff saw him “touch inappropriately on her legs, back and buttocks” and did not report it.
Isolated from family, friends
Despite the somewhat overt nature of the relationship, Wagstaff became angry whenever he believed the girl had told someone about the time they spent together. His insistence on secrecy isolated her from her family and friends, according to the court filing.
The lawsuit alleges Wagstaff manipulated and controlled Doe after she graduated as well. She selected her college and lived at home so as to prioritize her time with him, the lawsuit states.
The inappropriate relationship continued past graduation and only ended during the COVID pandemic, when she could “avoid Wagstaff’s advances and attention for prolonged periods.” Doe has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder as a result of Wagstaff’s grooming and abuse, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit accuses both Wagstaff and Flintridge Preparatory of negligence, failure to report suspected child abuse, intentional infliction of emotional district, sexual harassment and child sexual abuse. It asks for an unspecified amount in damages to be determined at trial.