Camden Military Academy dean sexually harassed student, lawsuit says

A lawsuit in federal court against Camden Military Academy alleges that the school’s dean of students engaged in sexually “inappropriate conversations, innuendos and conduct” with a minor child identified only as A.M. at the school.

The dean, John Heflin, “communicated via text message with A.M. hundreds of times at all hours of the day and night” to carry on an “inappropriate relationship,” said the lawsuit, filed in federal court by the Allen & Allen law firm in Anderson.

In legal answers to the complaint, lawyers for Camden Military Academy and Heflin deny the allegations.

And in an email to The State newspaper, Camden Military Academy attorney Curtis Dowling said the school only learned of the student’s allegations and concerns shortly before the lawsuit was filed earlier this year.

“We are not aware of any information or documentation to support the allegations against Camden Military Academy or John Heflin and the allegations are denied,” said Dowling, who with attorney Matt Gerrald represents the school. Representing Heflin are attorneys Mark Barrow and Richard McLawhorn. All the school’s attorneys are from Columbia.

The lawsuit says that A.M. enrolled at the school in October 2014. In April 2016, after A.M.’s grandfather died, Heflin “began an attempt to develop an inappropriate, personal relationship ... including providing gifts.”

The gifts were followed by inappropriate conversations, conduct and text messages, as well as warnings to keep their relationship secret, the lawsuit alleges.

A.M. continues to suffer “severe and permanent psychological injury” from that relationship, the lawsuit said.

A.M. is no longer a student at Camden Military Academy, attorney Josh Allen said Friday.

The boy’s identity is kept confidential in court papers because he is a minor. The State newspaper does not publish the names of alleged victims in sexual cases.

In 2013, after a four-week trial, a federal jury acquitted Camden Military Academy and its top leaders in a case involving the alleged rape of a cadet and a reputed “culture of violence” at the school. But that case involved alleged student-on-student violence. The current case is focused on a top school official’s conduct towards a student.

Court records say the earliest A.M.’s case could come to trial is in February 2019. Judge Cameron McGowan Currie is presiding.

The private, all-male military school, run by a nonprofit corporation, has grades seven through 12 and is recognized in the S.C. Legislative Manual as the "State Military Academy." Its uniforms look somewhat like the white pants and grey-blue tunics worn by Citadel cadets.

School attorney Dowling said, “Camden Military Academy stands by its mission statement to educate and inspire our students so they have an opportunity to achieve their maximum potential and gain the educational foundation to succeed in college and life as productive, contributing citizens.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Camden Military Academy dean sexually harassed student, lawsuit says."