An anonymous student’s local sexual assault case at Lawrence Memorial Central Middle School has been taken to the federal courts. According to KCTV5, in October 2023, Lawrence Memorial Central Middle School gym teacher and Lawrence High School wrestling coach Patrick Naughton was reported to the middle school’s school resource officer by one of his students for sexual harassment.

According to the Lawrence Journal-World, the actions were reported to school leaders, but never to the district coordinator or the student’s family. The school did not fully investigate the incident, allowing it to be dismissed by an official instead of the Title IX coordinator, who would typically manage reports of sexual harassment, closing the case.

According to the Lawrence Journal-World, after another incident in which Naughton was reported to the school, Central Middle School sent out a mass email claiming that the allegations were false.

According to KCTV5, the district’s Title IX coordinator admitted that the district had “dropped the ball” by not handling the situation correctly during a video conference on April 4, 2025.

According to KCTV5, on March 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened a formal investigation into USD 497. The lawsuit includes nine charges, each up to a $75,000 fine, including sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

As of May 2, Naughton is still a teacher at Central Middle School, and a scheduling conference is set for May 26, where they will lay out a timeline for the lawsuit.