Lamothe Law Firm has filed a lawsuit on behalf of our client, Chloe Riviere, alleging that starting from the age of 11 she was groomed for sexual abuse by a teacher at The Willow School, formerly known as Lusher Charter School. In support of the allegations, Ms. Riviere attached to the lawsuit records of hundreds of text and social media messages exchanged between herself and her teacher, Edward Cerrone, which reflect the extent of his near-complete psychological control over Ms. Riviere. In one exchange, Ms. Riviere confronts Cerrone about the abuse and he admits to having sexual intercourse with her when she was just 17 years old. Cerrone was a 39-year-old man with a wife and four young children when that intercourse occurred on Valentine’s Day 2013. In the text exchange, Cerrone blames her for the abuse she suffered at his hands.
The lawsuit alleges that while Ms. Riviere was a student at Lusher, from 2007 to 2014, Cerrone invested hundreds of hours over the course of many years systematically destroying her self-esteem and training her to be completely emotionally, psychologically, and financially dependent upon him for any sense of stability and self-worth. Ms. Riviere spent hours with Cerrone in his classroom, often leaving her own classes to do so. Outside of school hours, Cerrone contacted Ms. Riviere on her private cell phone repeatedly and had her babysit his children at his home.
Regarding why she has chosen to come forward, Chloe Riviere states: “I want to raise awareness about the signs of grooming and sexual abuse. If my story prevents one child from suffering what I have, it will have been worth it to me.”
Ms. Riviere is represented by Lamothe Law Firm attorney Kristi Schubert. Ms. Schubert states that “Chloe’s case is one of the most extreme examples of grooming I’ve seen in all my years representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse.” Ms. Schubert adds, “We urge any other students who may have been abused to come forward if they feel they are able to do so.”
Lamothe Law Firm lawyers have substantial experience pursuing child abuse and sexual assault claims and are passionate about finding justice and the best possible results for the survivors. If you or someone you care about is a survivor of sexual abuse or assault, please contact the Lamothe Law Firm today. Depending on your situation, you may have only a limited time to file a legal claim. We look forward to your call and our initial consultation.
