Former CAHS Principal Added to Lawsuit Over Sex Abuse by Track Coach
The former student who is suing V.I. government agencies and officials over sex abuse he suffered at the hands of disgraced Charlotte Amalie High School track coach Alfredo Bruce Smith has filed a first amended complaint, adding former CAHS principal April Petrus to the list of defendants.
2025-04-03 20:21:25 - VI News Staff
Now an adult, the former student first filed suit in V.I. District Court in December as John Doe, to protect his privacy as a sex assault survivor, naming the V.I. Education and Human Services departments, Board of Education, Government of the Virgin Islands, former CAHS principal Alcede Edwards, teacher Camelia Febres, Smith, and 20 Richard Roes — as-yet unidentified officials alleged to have known about Smith’s conduct.
Along with naming Petrus the amended complaint, filed Tuesday, also provides more detail about her retirement and that of Edwards late last year amid what the Education Department said was an ongoing investigation into Smith’s abuse, which federal prosecutors said spanned from 2006 to 2021, when he was arrested by agents with Homeland Security Investigations.
Smith, 54, subsequently pleaded guilty last April to 20 charges that included aggravated second-degree rape; first-degree unlawful sexual contact; coercion and enticement; and production of child pornography. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison and is currently incarcerated at the Miami Federal Detention Center.
Collectively, all the defendants in the civil suit are accused of depriving the plaintiff of his bodily integrity, violating the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause; failure to train staff; state-created danger; three counts of conspiracy; civil conspiracy; civil assault; civil battery; and negligence.
The Virgin Islands government, Board of Education and Education and Human Services departments are accused of quid pro quo harassment, creating a hostile environment, deliberate indifference, failure to train, and retaliation.
The Board of Education has filed a motion to dismiss the suit, claiming it has not been properly served with the complaint under federal and V.I. Rules of Civil Procedure, because Doe failed to also serve the governor, “and as such, the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over Defendant.”