WICHITA, Kan. – A former Wichita Trinity Academy student is suing the private Christian school over the arrest and conviction of a former high school instructor for sex crimes in 2021 and 2022.
Matthew McFarren, a religion teacher and assistant soccer coach, was convicted of having sex with a student and sentenced to almost three years in prison.
In a complaint filed in Sedgwick County District Court, Trinity Academy is named as one of three defendants. The lawsuit also identifies two people who it intends to hold accountable for “negligent hiring and negligent supervision” in connection with the case involving Matthew McFarren, a former Trinity Academy teacher.
McFarren was a high school teacher at Trinity Academy from May 2020 to March 2021, according to court filings, and is accused of using his position as a teacher “to isolate, groom, and sexually abuse” the former student, known in the lawsuit against the school as “Jane Doe.”
In court records, “Jane Doe” claims she incurred $250 million in damages, which included medical expenditures and emotional agony. The lawsuit also contends that Trinity Academy and its executives knew or had cause to know about McFarren’s misbehavior before employing him.
Wichita police arrested McFarren, 41, in March 2021 for engaging in unauthorized voluntary sexual relations. The Wichita Police Department stated that it was informed that month of potential sexual contact between McFarren and a 16-year-old pupil.
McFarren was arrested on a warrant after a traffic stop in Sumner County on March 20, 2021.
Following McFarren’s arrest, Wichita police said that Trinity Academy authorities were working with the investigation.