An elementary school teacher who was previously convicted of sexually abusing five children is now being sued by one of his victims, new court papers show.
Simon Watts, a former teacher at Queens Jackie Robinson elementary school, allegedly sexually abused a girl from 2007 through 2009 while she was between 8 and 10 years old, the former student’s Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit alleges.
The woman — whose name is being withheld by The Post — has brought claims against Watts, the city and the Department of education, the court papers filed Tuesday show.
She claims that the city and the school were negligent in hiring, training, supervising and keeping Watts on staff, the court documents allege.
The DOE “should have known Simon A. Watts posed a threat of sexual abuse to children,” the court filing alleges.
The suit says the school should have had policies and training in place to prevent this from happening to children, the court papers show.
Simon Watts enters a Kew Gardens court on June 14, 2013.Ellis Kaplan
The victim was able to bring her claims — despite the fact that they had already fallen outside the statute of limitations — under New York’s Child Victims Act, which allows people who faced childhood abuse to bring old claims regardless of when they occurred.
The CVA opened up a one-year window to bring these time-barred claims. That window has since been extended for a second year.
The woman is suing for unspecified damages.
In June 2013, Watts was found guilty on charges of abuse, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child for sexually abusing four girls and a boy who were between 8 and 9.
He is serving a 35-year prison term.
At the time of his conviction, parents for three of the victims had brought lawsuits against Watts, the DOE and the school principle.
One former student, Neveah Thompson, in 2018 won a $16 million civil judgment against the city for Watts’ abuse.
The status of the other cases was not immediately known.
Watts, the city and the DOE did not immediately return requests for comment.
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Originally published at https://nypost.com/2021/02/17/former-student-sues-convicted-sex-perv-teacher-simon-watts/ on .
