The Associated Press

LEXINGTON - A judge will hear arguments Friday in the case of a former Fayette County Schools student who says she was sexually abused by junior high and high school teachers in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Carol Lynne Maner, 41, filed a lawsuit last year alleging that she and other students were the victims of sexual abuse at Beaumont Junior High School from 1976 to 1979 and at Lafayette High School from 1979 to 1982. The lawsuit says administrators ignored reports of sexual abuse.

Another student joined the lawsuit this summer, alleging that he, too, was molested by a teacher at Beaumont. This week, three former students and the ex-wife of one of the accused teachers stepped forward to support the claims.

In an affidavit filed Tuesday, Tom Wayman, a student at Beaumont at the time, said he and other students heard administrators talk about reports of male teachers having relationships with students.

In the affidavit, Wayman said he saw Robert Gardner, a drama teacher at Fayette High School at the time, rape Maner on a stage. He also claims to have seen Gardner have sex with two other students on the stage. Gardner retired last year from Tates Creek High School after six years as principal. He spent more than 25 years in the school district.

Gardner denied all the accusations.

"I want to state unequivocally that as for the allegations made concerning me, they did not happen," Gardner said. "I absolutely deny all of the allegations made against me in this claim."

Gardner questioned why Wayman did not report the allegations 25 years ago or why he did not offer to help the women.

"These allegations are outrageous, defy logic and are totally out of character for me individually and certainly with my record of service as an educator," Gardner said.

The school district, meanwhile, says Maner's lawsuit should be thrown out because the statute of limitations had expired, because Maner was 16 at the time most of the alleged abuse occurred and because she consented to sex. The school district also argued sovereign immunity - that it was immune to lawsuits because it is a government unit.

Circuit Judge Thomas L. Clark will hear arguments today.

Charles Arnold, the attorney who represents Maner, said the people who filed affidavits Tuesday came forward only after hearing about Maner's case through news reports.

"Lynne had no idea that (Wayman) had the information that he had," Arnold said. "We went to pretty extensive lengths to make sure that he was telling the truth, because these are very serious allegations."

Cecelia Correll, Gardner's ex-wife, signed an affidavit saying that she had discovered that her then-husband had sexual relationships with students as early as 1974, years before Maner said the abuse occurred.

Correll provided the court with several letters she said Gardner had written to former female students. She said she discovered two sets of letters from two different girls from 1974 and 1975. Correll and Gardner divorced in 1976.

"As for statements made by my ex-wife, I regret for our children that she has chosen to become involved in this matter," Gardner said. "I will not publicly attack her; however, I will only state that her allegations that I was involved with a high school student are not true."

The two other students who filed affidavits Tuesday said they also knew of Maner's sexual relationships with various teachers and said the administration had to know about them because it was well known among students and staff.

A lawyer for the school system countered that the school board never knew about the allegations and has never condoned inappropriate relationships between teachers and students.

"Had these people made their allegations when it occurred, it would have been investigated 25 years ago," said Larry C. Deener, an attorney representing the Fayette County Board of Education.

The school system, in a brief supporting its argument that the case should be dismissed, said Maner originally said her relationship with Gardner was consensual and changed her story only after Wayman's testimony.