MIDLAND, Texas — Five employees of Midland Christian School have filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Midland and three officers with the Midland Police Department.
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.
Now, over three months later, the five are alleging that the city and three of the police department's officers caused severe damage to their reputations and professional career.
According to the lawsuit, Lee, Ellis McClendon and Russell not only did not return to MCS but are also no longer working in the education field. While Counts did return, he was reportedly demoted.
The lawsuit also states that contrary to the initial report, the freshman who was the victim of the assault told McClendon and Counts, who were assigned to investigate the incident, that he was simply poked on his bottom with a bat and no penetration occurred.
Russell and Counts were also reportedly approached by the sophomore who had poked the victim. He was given "the school's highest punishment short of expulsion".
With that, the five had determined the investigation complete.
However, a few days later, the lawsuit says a parent of a different freshman baseball player began emailing the administrators. The lawsuit states the man had been displeased with school administration and had been emailing them complaints for around six years.
Although the man's child was not present on the day of the incident, the child told him penetration had occurred and as such the father concluded the incident was sexual assault.
Lee told the man he was welcome to report the situation to authorities, but nothing in the school's investigation showed evidence of sexual assault.
After the father reported the incident to police, MPD officer Camilo Fonseca spoke with Lee. The lawsuit alleges that the officer filed an incorrect report of what Lee told her despite body camera footage that contradicts it.
The lawsuit also says a sexual assault nurse examiner found no evidence of injury or trauma on the freshman who was allegedly assaulted.
Tw more officers with MPD, Jennie Alonzo and Rosemary Sharp, arrived to arrest the sophomore who had performed the alleged assault.
During the arrest, the lawsuit says Alonzo "insisted on perp walking the boy through the front doors of the school where his arrest would be more visible" despite requests from multiple officials requesting otherwise.
Alonzo finally agreed not to only after a phone call from a sergeant asking she not.
However, just a few days later Alonzo, Sharp and Fonseca signed arrest warrants for the five and they were also "perp walked" through the front doors of MCS.
The lawsuit alleges this was done to "publicly humiliate the Midland Christian Five", as the school employees asked to turn themselves in and were denied.
Additionally, the lawsuit states the arrest warrant affidavits "contained deliberate and reckless falsehoods", and that in order to obtain felony warrants, Alonzo, Sharp and Fonseca's allegations of concealment were false.
Another element of the lawsuit alleges the City of Midland and Officer Sharp were aware of "a repeated pattern of unconstitutional and unprofessional behavior on the part of Defendant Alonzo."
Alonzo's investigations and testimony has reportedly "been at the center of numerous criminal cases in Midland that ultimately were dismissed as unfounded and unsupported."
Because of these reasons, the "Midland Christian Five" are asking for a 'trial by jury on all claims for which the law provides a right to a jury trial."
To read the full 36-page lawsuit, you can do so below.
NewsWest 9 will continue to follow this story as it develops.