Lawsuit Seeks More Than $2 Million Over Student-Teacher Sex Allegation

A former Northwest Middle School coach is accused in a lawsuit of serving up a 14-year-old boy to a fellow teacher for sex.

The mother of the boy, a student in 2015 at Northwest Middle, has filed a lawsuit in Knox County Circuit Court against Knox County Schools, ex-teacher Serena Rae Milan and former coach Sean Green.

In the lawsuit, attorney Eddie Daniel seeks $500,000 in damages from Milan; $250,000 from Green; and $1.35 million from the school system.

Schools spokeswoman Melissa Tindell has declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing the system’s policy against talking about pending litigation.

Milan, 28, was charged in November with 29 sex-related crimes involving the boy, including statutory rape by an authority figure, solicitation of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor.

The presentment alleges Milan repeatedly engaged in various sex acts with the boy from February to July, with some of those incidents occurring in her classroom at Northwest. The document charges her with six separate felony counts in specific sexual encounters.

She is accused in one count of repeatedly engaging the boy in the production of sexually explicit images during the five-month period cited in the presentment with some of those photographs taken at the school.

She is charged with five felony counts of soliciting the boy to send her images of himself engaged in sex acts in July.

Milan resigned July 19. She is scheduled to appear Thursday in Knox County Criminal Court for a status check on plea negotiations between the state and defense attorney Gregory P. Isaacs.

The lawsuit alleges Milan and Green were friends and accuses Green of bringing the boy to Milan’s classroom at an unspecified time “in the spring of 2015” so Milan could have sex with the boy.

“Upon entering Milan’s classroom at Northwest Middle School, (the boy) was seated in front of a computer and (Milan) closed and locked the classroom door,” the lawsuit stated. “(Milan) began touching his legs and groin area and thereafter performed sexual acts on him in her classroom.”

The lawsuit alleges Green knew Milan intended to have sex with the boy, whom he brought to her classroom under the ruse of having Milan provide him help with computer training.

The legal action also alleges Green helped cover for Milan and “harassed and intimidated” the boy’s mother when she learned her son was being victimized “in an attempt to keep her from notifying law enforcement.”

The legal action alleges employees of the school system, including principals, have a long history of failing to report student sexual abuse and accuses Knox County Schools administrators of failing to increase training or beef up policies to prevent victimization of students by teachers. The lawsuit further states Green already had been deemed guilty of some unspecified “inappropriate conduct” while a teacher at Maynard Elementary School before he was transferred to Northwest Middle. No time frame or details are included.