The Atlantic Community School District is facing a lawsuit filed by lawyers representing four former students and a minor claiming that the district didn’t do enough to protect them from a former counselor who is accused of sexually exploiting students.
34-year-old Jesse Eugene McCann worked as a school counselor and coach at Atlantic from 2021 to 2026. In 2016 he worked at Nodaway Valley Schools. The Stuart Police Department charged McCann in May with sexual exploitation by a school employee for alleged inappropriate conduct with a student.
Atlantic Police announced in February that they were investigating claims against McCann while at Atlantic Schools.
McCann was later fired by Atlantic after the Iowa Board of Education announced that they had found probable cause that McCann violated the code of professional conduct and ethics. He gave up his teaching license in March.
Atlantic Police, in June, charged McCann with grooming and sexual exploitation by a school employee for alleged inappropriate contact, communication, and interactions with female students.
In the lawsuit, the former students accuse the district of failing to adequately protect them against McCann’s alleged actions. They are also accusing McCann of inflicting emotional distress.
The lawsuit outlines instances of alleged inappropriate contact and conversation with the students as well as alleged inappropriate texts messages from McCann. The suit says these instances were reported and school officials failed to investigate or act in a timely fashion and accused the district of not properly vetting McCann before he was hired.
