CONCORD — The guardian of a young disabled woman is suing Claremont school officials and SAU 6, claiming they failed to protect her from being sexually assaulted by a substitute teacher during a field trip to a local nonprofit in February 2019.

The former substitute and classroom assistant, George Caccavaro, 79, is also a defendant in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Concord.

Caccavaro — a former Claremont mayor and CEO of Cone-Blanchard in Windsor — was initially charged with two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault for allegedly grabbing the buttocks and grinding his body against the woman, who was then 20 and a special-needs student in the Stevens High School Life Skills program. Caccavaro was serving as a chaperone during the field trip.

Caccavaro pleaded guilty in March to two counts of simple assault and was sentenced on Aug. 10 to two months in jail, with the rest suspended. He served about 40 days and was released around Sept. 18, according to the lawsuit.

The victim has a genetic disorder that impacts her cognitive, physical and social development and also has been diagnosed with selective mutism, a social anxiety disorder which can affect her ability to speak in high-stress situations.

The lawsuit asserts that another teacher had seen Caccavaro lean over and kiss the woman in a separate incident prior to the Christmas break in 2018 and that Stevens High Principal Patricia Barry told him to stop focusing so much on that student. Her mother and guardian were not notified of the incident at the time, nor were police, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit also says that Kelly Fontaine, the Life Skills program instructor, was told by other staff that Caccavaro was spending an inappropriate amount of time with the young woman and bringing her food and snacks.

The lawsuit asserts that this was an effort by Caccavaro to “groom” the victim prior to a sexual assault.

“(The victim’s) disability rendered her incapable of freely arriving at an independent choice as to whether or not to engage in sexual conduct,” the lawsuit, brought by guardian Angela Leslie and filed by Concord-based attorney Anthony Carr, asserts.

Although Caccavaro was fired on Feb. 5, 2019, the day of the field trip incident, which was witnessed by two shelter volunteers, neither police nor her family were notified by school officials, the lawsuit said. Leslie was told of the incident by one of the witnesses, who is a family friend, and called police on Feb. 7.

Caccavaro acknowledged having touched the victim, according to a police affidavit, saying at one point, “I over-reacted by hugging her back while squeezing her buttocks and moving both my hips and hands inappropriately.”

The 8-count lawsuit claims SAU 6 and the Claremont School District violated Title IX laws by failing to protect the victim from sexual harassment and created a “hostile education environment” and also asserts that they violated her rights under federal disability law.

The lawsuit says Caccavaro violated her due process right to “bodily integrity” under the 14th Amendment and also violated her right to equal protection as well.

Two additional counts assert similar violations by Barry, the principal, and Fontaine, the Life Skills administrator, for failing to “remedy the wrong” and said they were “grossly negligent in supervising Caccavaro.”

“It was obvious that permitting Caccavaro to continue to be alone with (the victim), sexually groom her, and take her on trips off school grounds without any other school officials, would result in Caccavaro’s abuse of (the victim),” the lawsuit asserts.

It also says that school officials were “mandatory reporters” and “failed egregiously” in not notifying police of the assaults, including the earlier kissing incident.

The lawsuit also lodges a state battery claim and an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim against Caccavaro.

The young woman missed school for at least a week after the incident and was forced to withdraw altogether by the end of March 2019.

The lawsuit said her guardian at one point saw her on a walk with a male paraprofessional despite assurances that she would not be left alone with any male teachers.

Caccavaro’s Norwich-based attorney, George Ostler, said on Wednesday that he had not seen the lawsuit yet and declined comment.

A phone message and email to SAU 6 Superintendent Michael Tempesta was not returned on Wednesday, nor was an email to the two school officials named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also listed up to 10 unidentified school employees as potential defendants.

In addition to having served his jail term, Caccavaro, who turns 80 on Oct. 24, must complete 100 hours of community service, avoid all contact with the victim and her mother and grandmother for 10 years; and must complete a psychosexual evaluation and not seek employment that puts him in an advisory position over children or vulnerable adults.

Caccavaro had also worked in the past as the business administrator in the Claremont and Newport school districts.

The lawsuit says he had first started substituting in Claremont in early 2017, was reprimanded and terminated for an unspecified conduct matter within two months, then rehired in November 2017.

News staff writer John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com or 603-727-3217.