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May 24, 2010

Tonya Craft files $25 million lawsuit against accusers, Catoosa County

Catoosa County News

RINGGOLD —

 
Sandra Lamb, mother of one of the alleged girl victims, of Ringgold.

 
Sherri and Dewayne Wilson, parents of one of Tonya Craft’s students, of Rossville.

 
Joal Henke, Tonya Craft’s ex-husband and father of one of the alleged girl victims, and his wife Sarah Henke, of Ooltewah, Tenn.

 
Kelli McDonald, mother of one of the alleged girl victims, of Chickamauga.

 
Catoosa County as the governing agency.

 
Catoosa County Sheriff's Office.

 
Tim Deal, sergeant with the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office and lead detective in the case.

 
Phil Summers, Catoosa County sheriff.

 
Suzi Thorne, former child abuse investigator with The Green House Children’s Advocacy Center in Dalton.

 
Stacy Long, a child abuse interviewer with the Children’s Advocacy Center in Rossville for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

 
Laurie Evans, a former therapist with the Children’s Advocacy Center in Rossville for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

 
Children’s Advocacy Center in Rossville for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

 
Greenhouse Children’s Advocacy Center in Dalton.



The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit district attorney's office, including district attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin and assistant district attorneys Chris Arnt and Len Gregor, and Judge Brian House, who presided over the trial, are not mentioned in the suit because they have prosecutorial immunity. The circuit serves Catoosa, Walker, Dade and Chattooga counties.

Attorneys for Tonya Craft, a former elementary school teacher recently acquitted of child molestation charges, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Rome on Monday seeking $25 million in damages from her former accusers.

Craft, 37, a former Chickamauga Elementary School kindergarten teacher, was charged with molesting three children and was acquitted of all charges on May 11 in Catoosa County Superior Court.

She was fired from her job at Chickamauga Elementary and had maintained her innocence since her arrest in June 2008.

The 52-page lawsuit claims Craft was unjustly prosecuted, alleging a lack of evidence, and also asserts that the children were coached to testify against her prior to and during her trial.

The suit names 15 defendants:

• Sandra Lamb, mother of one of the alleged girl victims, of Ringgold.

• Sherri and Dewayne Wilson, parents of one of Tonya Craft’s students, of Rossville.

• Joal Henke, Tonya Craft’s ex-husband and father of one of the alleged girl victims, and his wife Sarah Henke, of Ooltewah, Tenn.

• Kelli McDonald, mother of one of the alleged girl victims, of Chickamauga.

• Catoosa County as the governing agency.

• Catoosa County Sheriff's Office.

• Tim Deal, sergeant with the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office and lead detective in the case.

Phil Summers, Catoosa County sheriff.

• Suzi Thorne, former child abuse investigator with the GreenHouse Children’s Advocacy Center in Dalton.

• Stacy Long, a child abuse interviewer with the Children’s Advocacy Center in Rossville for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

• Laurie Evans, a former therapist with the Children’s Advocacy Center in Rossville for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

• Children’s Advocacy Center in Rossville for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

• GreenHouse Children’s Advocacy Center in Dalton.

• The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit district attorney's office, including district attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin and assistant district attorneys Chris Arnt and Len Gregor, and Judge Brian House, who presided over the trial, are not mentioned in the suit because they have prosecutorial immunity. The circuit serves Catoosa, Walker, Dade and Chattooga counties.

The lawsuit alleges the criminal charges were derived from a “repeated and suggestive questioning” of the children involved by child advocates and law enforcement.

Based upon the statements, which the lawsuit alleges were coerced, and “without any proper investigation” the defendants acted to destroy Craft’s parental relations as well as her freedoms.

By doing so, the defendants violated her civil rights on several points.

Craft claims the sheriff’s department, GreenHouse and Child Advocacy Center violated her civil rights and the questioning by representatives of the Children’s Advocacy Center was “intentionally designed to manipulate and/or harm the children.”

In addition, her children were removed from her home on the basis of the investigation.

The suit stated the defendants acted and conspired to destroy Craft’s “parental and familial relations, as well as Plaintiff’s freedom.”

Additionally, the suit claims statements made by Lamb and Summers to the press were “false, were defamatory and were made maliciously.”

The lawsuit also seeks four conditions or actions: Craft’s name removed from the records of any Georgia site or list of child abusers, in essence expunging her record; a protocol be established for investigations with corroborating information; requirement that interviews be videotaped and leading and repeated question avoided; training and supervision of employees investigating sexual abuse claims.

To view the court filing, go to: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www1.romenews-tribune.com/Files/Documents/May2010/CraftComplaint.pdf. You will need a Google account to view the filing.

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