According to the lawsuit, the school employed Suggs from around July 2003 until around May 2016.

The suit alleges that Sugg met the victim in September 2014 a few weeks after the victim began to attend the school and Sugg quickly “ingratiated herself into Jane Doe’s life under the guise of faith-based mentorship.”

The victim met Sugg after the teacher spoke to the school’s upper-school students during chapel about her own experience as a victim of child sexual abuse and her willingness to help any students with similar struggles, according to court documents.

The lawsuit alleges that Sugg used her position as a teacher to befriend and groom the victim and to gain her trust. The lawsuit also said within weeks of meeting the student, Sugg gave the girl a gift that read, “Will you be my little sister?”

It also alleges that by the end of 2014, Sugg was spending a great deal of time with the student in and out of school and grooming the child to believe that Sugg’s closeness was a normal sign of care for her. The suit said that Sugg spent an “inordinate amount of time” with the student and was constantly alone with her in her classroom, gave her rides off campus, gave her gifts and communicated with the girl on the phone and on social media.

According to the suit, the school’s administration and staff caught Sugg engaging in inappropriate physical contact with the student around campus and in the chapel. It also states that Sugg’s actions were so inappropriate that students reported her conduct to school administrators.

The suit said the school failed to report the misconduct to law enforcement, DCF or the child’s parents. It also states that Sugg’s husband reported her conduct to The First Academy’s administration.

Sugg began sexually assaulting the student on the school’s campus, off property in her vehicle and at home when her husband was away, according to court documents.

The school removed Sugg from teaching in around April 25, 2016, and terminated her employment around May 6, 2016.

The suit also alleges that The First Academy asked the victim to withdraw as a student in May 2016 and at no time did the school report its “knowledge or suspicion” of Sugg’s sexual abuse of the girl. It also alleges that the school made a “conscious choice” to conceal the information it had about Suggs.

Sugg’s is accused of continuing to sexually molest the student after May 2016 and was able to find work at a different Christian school, the suit states.

The suit claims The First Academy and The First Baptist Church of Orlando breached its duties to the student by failing to protect her from “harmful individuals” like Sugg and by failing to protect her from sexual assault.

Harriet Sugg, 54, is charged with five different felonies for sexual activity with a minor – three of those charges emphasize that she committed the crime while acting as an authority figure at a school. There were already criminal charges against the teacher when that lawsuit was filed against the school. Now, even more charges have been filed.

Sugg was 47 at the time of the alleged abuse and the student was 15. According to the lawsuit, Sugg spoke to the students at Chapel about being a victim of child sex abuse herself, and that the victim had already gone through certain traumas that left her vulnerable to abuse.