LEBANON — Accusations that a former Waynesville chemistry teacher was a “sexual predator” who “fondles and sexually harasses” high school girls is at the center of a civil trial that begins today in Warren County.

        A jury will decide whether Mary Raab, the mother of a valedictorian, libeled 26-year teaching veteran Donald Tharr on Jan. 31, 2000, when she wrote those statements in letters to Waynesville school officials and local newspapers and uttered similar comments in public.

        Mr. Tharr's attorney, John D. Smith, alleges Mrs. Raab was trying to get his client fired, even though Mr. Tharr already was reassigned to a nonteaching job for trading commodities on the Internet during class at Waynesville High School in 1999.

        “She told people he wasn't working at school because of the way he treated female students,” Mr. Smith said.

        “She wrote a letter to the superintendent, the school board and newspapers that he fondled girls on a regular basis and sexually harassed them and that he was a sexual predator. That is absolutely not true.”

        Mrs. Raab of Spring Valley has claimed she was merely stating an opinion and exercising her constitutional right to free speech. However, Judge P. Daniel Fedders ruled earlier that some of the statements she made were not protected by constitutional privilege.

        “The real issue is whether the statements were factual,” said Robert Peeler, one of two attorneys representing Mrs. Raab. “We're going to be requesting the jury to discern what the truth is about the situation described in the letter.”

        Mrs. Raab is the only defendant left in the lawsuit after five others either could not be identified or were dismissed from the complaint.

        The defamation suit is among several civil actions Mr. Tharr filed against school officials and others in 2000 following his reassignment. He since has retired on disability.

        Mr. Tharr voluntarily dismissed a $150,000 lawsuit against Superintendent Thomas Isaacs. The suit claimed Mr. Isaacs made false accusations, placed him on administrative leave, ordered him out of the high school, threatened to fire him and withheld $4,000 in sick pay.

        Another lawsuit, alleging Mr. Tharr's reassignment violated the teacher contract, also was dismissed when Mr. Tharr retired.

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