COLUMBUS, Ohio — Madison Sparks dressed to the nines for her eighth grade dance, wearing a white dress and heels, her hair full of curls. She had no way of knowing how that night would change the rest of her life.
That’s because, on that night, at just 13 years old, she said her teacher fell in love with her. That’s the allegation in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court against that teacher, Benjamin Rutan, along with the South-Western City School District, the board of education, and six current and former administrators.
10TV does not usually reveal the identities of sexual abuse survivors, but Sparks wanted to share her story. She released the following statement to 10TV.
“I’m sharing my story because I want to reclaim my life and be an advocate for children. Starting in middle school, I was pursued by my teacher and groomed to protect him at all costs. His deviant behavior robbed me of my innocence, childhood, family and future as other adults at South-Western City Schools willfully shielded my abuser and protected themselves. District leaders had a duty to protect me, a child in their care, yet they repeatedly failed to take action. Now as an adult, I can finally find the strength and courage to speak up for that lost little girl and to do everything I can to prevent other children from becoming victims.”
The complaint details years of sexual abuse by Rutan, who was arrested back in 2021 and charged with sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. He is still awaiting trial.
The suit alleges Rutan first had sex with Sparks in the Norton Middle School girls’ locker room in the summer of 2013. He was 31, and she had just turned 14 years old.
From there, according to the complaint, the two would continue to have sex at the school, often during school hours, for the next five years. Those encounters would take place at the school, often during school hours, at various locations, including Rutan’s classroom and office, temporary classrooms near the building, Rutan’s vehicle, and during school-sponsored athletic events.
Rutan eventually became Sparks’ teacher and coach, which led to the two cuddling underneath blankets on bus trips to and from games and meets. The lawsuit also alleges Rutan would have Sparks sit on his lap during class and also on a specially painted gold chair that would sit at the front of his desk.
The lawsuit also details that, during her eighth-grade year, Sparks made a T-shirt that had “I [heart] BMR” written on it. Those are Rutan’s initials.
Later, after Rutan was arrested in 2021, investigators would find that shirt, along with the gold chair with fading paint, love letters, a bra and underwear he had bought for her, Sparks’ driver’s permit paperwork, a photo collage of the two of them, and photos from the dance where Rutan “fell in love” with Sparks.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants knew of and observed the inappropriate conduct between the teacher and student and yet retained Rutan as a teacher and coach for nearly two decades. It includes references of parents both formally and informally reporting the behavior but having those reports dismissed as rumors.
Chelsea Weaver, the attorney for Sparks released the following statement to 10TV:
“South-Western City School District leaders had a legal obligation to protect Madison Sparks. Yet despite having abundant information about Benjamin Rutan’s deviant actions, district teachers, coaches and administrators swept concerns under the rug—revealing a pattern of disturbing and illegal behavior within the district. Without question, South-Western City Schools, one of the largest districts in the state of Ohio, contributed to the ongoing abuse that Madison experienced at the hands of a popular teacher. It’s shameful, and we look forward to holding people in power accountable for their willful inaction.”
Even after Sparks moved on to high school, the suit alleges the abuse continued. While Sparks had wanted to be an attorney, the suit claims Rutan convinced her to switch to teaching as part of a school mentorship program and to select him as a mentor. That meant, on a nearly daily basis, she would travel to Norton Middle School, where the abuse is alleged to have continued.
Even after Sparks went off to college, the suit claims Rutan stalked her there, and she turned to self-harm and developed an eating disorder, leading to a 60-pound weight loss that required medical intervention.
In November 2021, Sparks reported Rutan to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. She was given a recording device, which captured several admissions of sexual contact when Sparks wore it that December, according to the lawsuit.
After that, Rutan was arrested and charged. He also submitted his resignation.
During that time, the South-Western City Schools conducted an internal investigation. The findings were obtained by 10TV. The district did find that Rutan violated school policy and engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with Sparks and did do using SWCSD facilities and resources. But it also concluded that the district was not to blame.
Based upon the preponderance of the evidence, it cannot be found that any District employee other than Mr. Rutan was aware of or had reason to know of the relationship between them.
The district also released a statement to 10TV on Thursday.
The South-Western City School District was first made aware of a potential lawsuit by way of today’s Columbus Dispatch article dated Thursday, February 23, 2023. At this time, the District has not received any documentation regarding a court filing or litigation in process against the South-Western City School District. Just as the District did upon notice of the arrest of the employee, and subsequent investigation in December of 2021, we will continue to act in full transparency and maintain a zero tolerance standard for any and all allegations of inappropriate conduct in our school system. While not having been served any court filings at this time, at the center of the Columbus Dispatch article is a tragic story about the account of a former student that led to the arrest of a former Norton Middle School employee. In the absence of any formal legal notice, the District owes it to the parties involved to refrain from further comment at this time as to preserve the efficacy of the legal system’s processes in pursuit of their fact finding.
The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $25,000 and punitive damages to be determined at trial.