School board, former teacher sued over alleged attack

The mother of a St. Mary Parish Alternative School student is suing the school board and a former substitute teacher who allegedly held the 9-year-old student down and told another student to strike him.
Samantha Moore filed the lawsuit April 18 in 16th Judicial District Court, according to St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court records. The lawsuit says that on April 10, 2015, teacher Randy Louis forced a student at the Parish Alternative School in Verdunville to engage in a fight with another student. Louis held down the student and instructed the other student to attack the child, the lawsuit said.
The child suffered a fractured wrist as a result of the incident, the lawsuit said. The incident was a direct result of the negligence of Louis, and an indirect result of the school board’s negligence, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit refers to the victim as 11 years old on first reference but 9 years old on second reference. A sheriff’s office news release stated the victim was 9 years old.
Louis, 35, of Jeanerette, was arrested May 8, 2015, on the charges of simple battery and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
On April 17, 2015, the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office received a complaint of a possible battery involving a juvenile. During the investigation, detectives learned that Louis restrained a student while instructing another student to strike him, a sheriff’s office news release stated.
According to Louis’ booking sheet, Louis became angry with a student and, as a result, held him down tightly by his arm and the back of his neck while instructing another student to hit him. The other student hit the child in the head with a closed fist resulting in the student fracturing his hand, the booking sheet stated.
In May 2015, Donald Aguillard, who was St. Mary Parish Schools superintendent at the time of Louis’ arrest, said school officials fully cooperated with the investigation that led to Louis' arrest. Louis had served as a long-term substitute teacher, Aguillard said.
“The substitute teacher has been relieved of duties and the school system will continue to monitor the situation and act in accordance with board policy as warranted,” Aguillard said in May 2015.
Louis’ criminal trial is set for May 25.