Friday, May 28, 1999

Art Bell's son files suit over assault

A federal lawsuit claims a school district failed to take action to prevent the sexual crime of a substitute teacher.

By Carri Geer
© 1999, Las Vegas Review-Journal

The son of radio talk show host Art Bell has filed a federal lawsuit against the Nye County School District and a former substitute teacher who is serving a life prison sentence for sexually assaulting him.

Arthur Bell IV identified himself in an amended complaint filed Friday in Las Vegas. The original complaint, filed in November, listed the plaintiffs in the case as John and Jane Doe and described them as the "natural parents of Peter Doe, a minor."

In an order entered May 14, U.S. District Judge Johnnie Rawlinson said she would dismiss the lawsuit if the plaintiffs did not file an amended document under their true names within 30 days.

The crime against Bell's son may have played a role in his decision in October to end his "Coast to Coast" program, which is broadcast from his home in Pahrump and has an estimated 15 million listeners on 462 stations nationwide. Bell's show deals with paranormal events, UFOs and other "X-Files"-like topics. It is described as originating from the "Kingdom of Nye."

"You may recall about a year ago ... I told you that there was an event, a threatening terrible event occurred to my family, which I could not tell you about," Bell told his listeners on Oct. 13. "Because of that event, and a succession of other events, what you're listening to right now, is my final broadcast on the air. This is it, folks. I'm going off the air and will not return."

But Bell did return to the airwaves on Oct. 28, although he remained mum about the reason for his departure.

"That event occurred and became an absolute crisis on the night that I signed off, actually prior to it -- something that I thought would take my complete, full-time attention, and for a period of time of course it did ... and so it was a very sad thing for me," Bell said.

Bell told listeners earlier this week that the reason for his October departure would soon become public.

His son's lawsuit names former teacher Brian Lepley as a defendant, as well as the school district, Superintendent Geraldine Harge and Pahrump Valley High School Principal Jerry Hill.

Lepley, 34, was sentenced in May 1998 to life in prison for engaging in sexual acts with Bell's then 16-year-old son, who is now an adult, and with an 18-year-old man. Prosecutors claimed Lepley, who is infected with the AIDS virus, supplied his victims with marijuana and alcohol on several occasions.

The substitute teacher was charged in 1997 with 16 drug- and sex-related counts, including sexual assault and attempted transmission of the AIDS virus. At the time of the trial, neither of Lepley's victims had the virus.

Lepley was convicted in April 1998 of most of the charges he faced. He admitted engaging in the sexual contact but adamantly denied he did anything criminal other than occasionally supplying underage boys with alcohol or marijuana.

The AIDS charge stemmed from what Lepley described as a four-month relationship with the 18-year-old, who was never Lepley's student. The young man claimed Lepley did not inform him about his medical condition and did not use a condom; Lepley denied those allegations.

One oral sex encounter with Bell's son resulted in a sexual assault conviction and the life sentence for Lepley.

Lepley pleaded guilty in November 1998 to additional charges that stemmed from allegations that he had fondled a 14-year-old boy. Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett estimated Lepley will be eligible for parole after spending about 15 years in prison.

According to the lawsuit filed by Bell's son, the boy was a student at Pahrump Valley High School from August 1996 to May 1997. During that time, according to the complaint, Lepley was a substitute teacher in several of the boy's classes.

The lawsuit claims the teen-ager "was sexually harassed by Lepley, who used his position of authority to intimidate and coerce" the boy.

"In engaging in this conduct, Lepley was acting pursuant to NCSD's customs and practices, which for many years have permitted and condoned sexual relations between teachers and students," the document alleges.

At least three other teachers have been accused of sexual misconduct with students at Pahrump Valley High School in recent years. One former teacher, Joseph Peterson, was sentenced in August 1996 to life in prison for raping a female student in his classroom.

Arthur Bell IV's lawsuit claims Harge and Hill, as Lepley's supervisors, "were responsible for the policies which allowed Lepley to use his position with the NCSD to sexually harass" him.

Reno attorney Paul Anderson, who represents the school district, has denied that allegation. Anderson could not be reached for comment Friday on the amended complaint.

The lawsuit further alleges that Harge and Hill "have known about sexual relations between teachers and students for years and yet have failed to take any action to prevent teachers from sexually harassing students by investigating claims of sexual harassment or misconduct, disciplining the teachers, or seeking to educate and protect potential victims -- the school's students."

According to the lawsuit, the school district's policies failed to protect -- through education and the availability of a confidential complaint process -- students from sexual harassment by their teachers.

"Despite having actual notice of Lepley's inappropriate sexual conduct toward students, none of the defendants took the necessary investigatory or disciplinary actions against Lepley," the lawsuit alleges.

According to the document, Bell's son has suffered physical injuries, as well as severe mental and emotional distress. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of discriminating against the teen-ager on the basis of his sex. It also accuses the defendants of negligently hiring, supervising and retaining Lepley.

According to the document, Lepley had a sexual offense history that could have been discovered with a reasonable investigation.

"Defendants knew or reasonably should have known of Lepley's sexual proclivities and predisposition to molest children," the lawsuit claims.

According to the lawsuit, Harge directed in 1995 that Lepley would no longer be permitted to substitute at area middle schools because of complaints.

"Through their inaction, defendants negligently retained Lepley as a teacher and employee of the NCSD after having been made aware of his abuse of students," the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint also accuses the defendants of assault and battery. Bell's son is seeking unspecified damages.

Anderson has said Lepley is not entitled to legal representation from the school district in this case, because his criminal conduct "was outside the course and scope of his employment." The attorney said the sexual contact did not occur on school property or during school hours.

Neither Las Vegas attorney John Hawley, who represents Bell's son, nor Bell have responded to repeated requests for comment on the lawsuit during the past several months.

"I can tell you he's not going to want to comment about that," Los Angeles attorney Davidson Pattiz, who is representing Bell in another civil case, said Friday. "It's something that he needs to deal with in his own way."