Lake Braddock Secondary School announced the immediate retirement of Principal Dave Thomas on Friday. This is after a WUSA9 investigation revealed that the school is facing a federal investigation for its handling of a sexual harassment case.
The case involved head varsity basketball coach John Giannelli, who was accused of sexually harassment, verbal abuse, bullying and more by students from the women’s basketball team.
Giannelli resigned on March 15, 2016, after parents turned surveys, blasting the coach, into school administrators. This was three months after one student, Lizzie Fitzpatrick, formally complained about his behavior on December 18, 2015.
After an investigation by Fairfax County Public Schools, findings released on June 14, 2017 said that the coach had engaged in improper conduct, but found no failings on the part of school leadership to respond.
However, emails obtained by WUSA9 through a public records request suggest Lake Braddock Principal Dave Thomas may have ignored allegations and failed to protect students.
Two people, one the former football coach, Jim Poythressm and the other the former Activities Director, Mike Clark, have alleged that Thomas failed to act. Both were fired by Thomas following the investigation.
Read the full investigation here.
