Attorney Sean Logue believes Highlands School District should be held accountable for the alleged actions of a former teacher who police have charged with sexual assault against three students.
Logue, a Carnegie-based lawyer, does not represent any of the alleged victims of former teacher Sean Dicer, 53, of Brackenridge. He is seeking people to come forward to report what they witnessed over the years because he is looking to develop a tort case against the district.
A tort case is a civil lawsuit that seeks compensation for injuries or damages caused by someone’s — in this case, he argues, the district’s — wrongful act or omission. The purpose of a tort case is to compensate victims, not to punish offenders.
Allegheny County Police in December charged Dicer, a district teacher for nearly 20 years, with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor and sexual extortion. A March 5 arraignment and hearing are scheduled in downtown Pittsburgh in that case.
In January, police filed separate charges against Dicer that include indecent assault, child endangerment, unlawful contact with a minor and child corruption. Those charges stem from incidents said to have happened in 2007 at the former Fairmount Elementary School.
“We need to fully explore what the district should have known,” Logue said. “I think if it’s true he was having kids over to his house, and the district knew, then it needs to be fully litigated.”
Highlands Superintendent Monique Mawhinney declined a TribLive request for comment.
Logue has received a handful of phone calls already — none from people who claim to be victims. Several people have called to report leads about Dicer’s behavior with students, he said.
“The number of people who have told me about his behavior makes me believe there are other victims,” Logue said. “I think the story is horrendous, and I want to help people who (were possibly) hurt by him.”
Information reported to Logue by phone or through his website will be kept confidential, he said.
Dicer’s attorney, Duke George, has said he plans to call several witnesses during the hearing to speak to Dicer’s reputation and that he questions the validity of the allegations made against his client.
