MIDLAND, Texas — The City of Midland has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the "Midland Christian Five".
The city, as well as Midland police officers Jennie Alonzo, Camilo Fonseca and Rosemary Sharp, have been listed as defendants in the federal lawsuit filed in late August 2022.
Jared Lee, Dana Ellis, Matthew Counts, Gregory McClendon and Barry Russell were all arrested in February 2022 for an alleged failure to report a sexual assault involving the school's baseball team.
At the time of the arrest, Lee was the superintendent, Ellis was the secondary principal, Counts was an assistant principal and coach, McClendon was the athletic director and football coach and Russell was the baseball coach.
The five went in front of a grand jury in May. At the time the grand jury no billed them, meaning they did not believe there was enough evidence to indict and take to trial at the time.
In contrary to the initial allegations, the lawsuit alleged that the five MCS employees not only properly completed an investigation but also found that no injury or trauma had occurred to the boy at the center of the investigation per a sexual assault nurse.
However, the suit alleged the listed MPD officers not only "perp walked" the MCS employees to publicly humiliate them but also showed patterns of unconstitutional and unprofessional behavior.
The city's motion to dismiss the lawsuit claims the five "ignored their legal obligations to report the criminal conduct to law enforcement authorities."
It also claims that the detectives did indeed have probable cause to arrest the five based on their failure to report, and that this arguable probable cause gives the officers qualified immunity.
Now a federal judge will need to review the motion and allow or deny it.
NewsWest 9 will continue to follow this story and bring you the latest updates as it develops.
To read the full 27-page lawsuit, you can do so below.
