A former New Hampshire state representative is suing her English teacher at Phillips Academy Andover for sexually assaulting her when she was 15.
Marie Sapienza is now 50. She’s a private attorney in Hampstead and has served four terms in the New Hampshire House.
But she says she’s still haunted by incidents dating back 35 years when she claims her former teacher, the novelist Alexander Theroux, sexually groped her and the school did nothing.
Her attorney Mitchell Garabedian is known for helping to uncover the priest sex abuse scandal within the Catholic church in Boston. He says Sapienza wants to make sure this doesn’t happen to others.
“Every victim of sexual abuse can come forward when their coping mechanisms allow them to and she called me recently and said it’s time for her to report the sexual abuse to try to gain a sense of healing and closure.”
In August, a school investigation named Theroux as one of five former teachers accused of sexually abusing students. He has been banned from campus and school events, but Theroux denies those allegations.
Sapienza is suing Theroux for $20 million in damages. Due to statute of limitations laws, Sapienza cannot sue the school or press criminal charges against Theroux.
Federal Lawsuit: Marie Sapienza v. Alexander Theroux
