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Second lawsuit filed against Southfield School District, teacher for alleged sexual harassment

Posted at 11:27 PM, Jul 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-26 23:30:32-04

A second lawsuit leveled against the Southfield School District and a 6th-grade teacher for alleged sexual harassment. 

Another student saying she was inappropriately touched when she was just 11 years old.

In the lawsuit, the student details how teacher Derek Atlas would allegedly make comments about her clothes, touch her shoulders and allegedly said at one point, "Just because I touch you doesn't mean I want you." 

According to the lawsuit, then the situation was brought to the attention of the district, they brushed it off as "fake news."

The student's mother says she confronted the district and the teacher. 

"He pretty much said that he had daughters and he just wanted to be a father figure for them," said the alleged victim's mother, who wanted to remain anonymous. "And I informed him that that’s not his role. That he needed to strictly be a teacher."

In a statement, Southfield Public Schools says it investigates and addresses all allegations of inappropriate behavior, but does not comment on matters under investigation.