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Two survivors of sexual abuse in the Litchfield public school system today filed lawsuits against the Town of Litchfield and its Board of Education related to the sexual abuse they suffered as young boys. The abuse was perpetrated by Litchfield Middle School swimming and cross-country coach David Driscoll. Both plaintiffs, John Fitterer and Dan Bird, are represented by Paul Slager of Stamford’s Slager Madry LLC.
The allegations in the lawsuits are deeply troubling. Both men allege that staff at Litchfield Middle School inexplicably failed to act, despite receiving a complaint in the 1980s – years before either student ever met Driscoll -- that Litchfield Middle School coach David Driscoll was sexually abusing minor students. According to the filings, school officials encouraged and allowed Driscoll to continue coaching young boys, including Mr. Fitterer and Mr. Bird, despite having received complaints about his sexual abuse of other boys. Instead of removing Driscoll from his position, the lawsuits allege, the school placed young boys directly under Driscoll’s authority, enabling years of grooming, exploitation, and sexual abuse. Driscoll was also the head of the Litchfield Track Club and worked at youth camps in Maine during summers.
“I am honored to represent these courageous men,” Paul Slager said. “Coming forward to expose the terrible harm that was done to them as children takes extraordinary strength and resolve. The facts outlined in the complaints speak for themselves, and make it clear that these men deserve the accountability that they have been denied for decades.”
Slager also emphasized that both men hope bringing these cases will have a broader impact:
“Mr. Fitterer and Mr. Bird are seeking the information that has been withheld from them for decades and want accountability for the lifechanging injuries caused by the Litchfield school system’s failures. Both men are publicly stating in the clearest possible terms that no adult in a position of authority should ever knowingly conceal such serious threats to children. Other survivors of abuse should know they are not alone and not at fault for what happened to them”
According to Paul Slager, the courtroom, not the press, is where the evidence belongs, adding “the legal complaints lay out the facts. We intend to prove our case in court, not through the media. Our focus is on achieving justice and trying to ensure that no child in Litchfield or anywhere else is placed in the custody of a known abuser.”
The cases were both filed in the Connecticut Superior Court. The public docket including the legal filings in each case can be found at:
Bird v. Town of Litchfield, et al.:
https://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/CaseDetail/PublicCaseDetail.aspx?DocketNo=LLICV256042643S
Fitterer v. Town of Litchfield, et al.:
https://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/CaseDetail/PublicCaseDetail.aspx?DocketNo=LLICV256042644S
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