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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Parents Say School Should Have Known|Teacher Was a Predator Through MySpace

CENTER, Neb. (CN) - Parents say a schoolteacher sexually abused and sodomized their 14-year old daughter, and the school district would have known the man is a sexual predator if it had checked his MySpace page, where he refers to himself as "John Pecker Hoffman."

The parents say John Hoffman offered to tutor their daughter at math, first at school, and then at his own home. They say the Bloomfield Community School District should have know Hoffman was immature, unprofessional and had bad judgment when he made significant changes to his appearance including, "tattoos, pierced body parts and a 'Mohawk' hair cut."

In addition to his significant screen name on his MySpace page, Hoffman filled his self-description with sexual allusions and innuendo, the parents say in their complaint in Knox County Court. They say the district knew or should have known that Hoffman was obsessed with sex, as his MySpace page was publicly available information when the district hired and renewed Hoffman's job contract.

The parents say the sexual abuse lasted for at least 5 months, and they found out about it only when their daughter became depressed and requested professional help from a counselor, and eventually told her mother about what had happened.

Hoffman pleaded "no contest" to criminal charges, and is in jail, according to the complaint.

Caitlin's seek $500,000 in damages for negligence. The only defendant is Bloomfield Community School District No. 86R. The girl and her family are represented by David Domia of Omaha.

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