Two men who claim they were sexually abused by an employee of the Litchfield public school system filed a lawsuit against the town of Litchfield and the board of education, according to their lawyer Paul Slager.
Dan Bird and John Fitterer allege in the lawsuit they were abused by the now late David Driscoll, a Litchfield Middle School cross country coach and Litchfield High swim coach who worked at the high school in special education. Driscoll, who died in September, also coached the Litchfield Track Club.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday claims that the Litchfield Middle School failed to act on a complaint from the 1980s that Driscoll was allegedly abusing students before Fitterer and Bird were middle school students in the 1990s.
“I am honored to represent these courageous men,” Slager stated in an email. “Coming forward to expose the terrible harm that was done to them as children takes extraordinary strength and resolve. The facts outlined in the complaints speak for themselves and make it clear that these men deserve the accountability that they have been denied for decades.”
The Courant reached out to both the town of Litchfield selectman’s office and the board of education but had not heard back from either as of Wednesday afternoon.
Driscoll died on Sept. 14 at age 81 and a memorial event was planned at the community center in town on Nov. 1. But on Nov. 1, about 150 people gathered on the Litchfield Green to listen to survivors of and witnesses to alleged abuse by Driscoll and the memorial event was canceled.
Driscoll was a popular figure in town and had lived in or near Litchfield his entire life. He was involved in the Litchfield Hills Road Race from its inception in 1977 and was one of its first race directors. He started the Litchfield Track Club in the late 1970s and coached hundreds of children over the years. He also worked at a summer camp for boys in Maine.
He was employed as an aide and a coach in the Litchfield public schools system from Jan. 1972 through May 25, 1993, when he resigned, according to the Region 20 superintendent of school’s office. Further information was not available from the school about his tenure. During his tenure, Driscoll was a cross country coach at the middle school in Litchfield and also was the coach of the co-ed swim team at Litchfield High.
A police investigation that was initiated in April 1990 concluded in January 1993 and called for Driscoll’s arrest, records show. Many people were interviewed during the investigation. But the warrant application was refused by the state’s attorney at the time because, according to the police report, the victims and witnesses in the report were unwilling to testify. No arrest was made.
On Nov. 1, some of those who said they were interviewed and were included in the police report, such as Bird, spoke about the alleged abuse.
“From the sixth to ninth grade, I was groomed and sexually abused by David Driscoll,” Bird said that day. “At that time, I was a vulnerable target because I was grateful for his mentorship, his friendship and the life experiences I was afforded at an early age in life.”
When he was questioned by police during the investigation when he was 12 or 13, Bird said he lied.
“All my thoughts raced back to all the uncomfortable moments I had spent alone with this man,” he said on Nov. 1. “I told them nothing inappropriate had happened. I was confused and ashamed and even began to defend David Driscoll. All of these were lies.”
Fitterer, a 1994 Litchfield High graduate, said on Nov. 1 that he reported his alleged abuse to the police in 1992.
“The police recommended that three felony charges be brought against Driscoll but unfortunately none of the children interviewed were willing to testify in court,” he said that day. “Charges were not formally brought against him and the case was closed. For 33 years, I believed I was the only one who came forward.”
Said Slager in the email: “Mr. Fitterer and Mr. Bird are seeking the information that has been withheld from them for decades and want accountability for the lifechanging injuries caused by the Litchfield school system’s failures. Both men are publicly stating in the clearest possible terms that no adult in a position of authority should ever knowingly conceal such serious threats to children. Other survivors of abuse should know they are not alone and not at fault for what happened to them.”