“John Doe” case tops civil court docket

At least for now, a civil lawsuit against a former Walhalla teacher and others occupies the number one position for trial during next month’s term of Oconee Common Pleas Court. It’s one of two lawsuits in which the plaintiff’s name is listed as “John Doe.” In this case a Greenville lawyer, representing a former Walhalla Middle School student now of adult age, is suing Richard Trey Gardner III, the Oconee School District, and the state Department of Education. The suit alleges Gardner, as a teacher and a coach, groomed the plaintiff for sexual abuse as early as the sixth grade and used his position to isolate the boy after wrestling and football practices. Defendant Gardner was sent to prison in 2012. Common Pleas Court starts the week of May 4. The defense in a subsequent “John Doe” lawsuit, filed for another former student, will go into a civil courtroom next month to ask a judge to dismiss that case.