Updated with additional details.
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – An 18-year-old student has filed a lawsuit against Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools and a former teacher who was charged with showing her nude photos of himself during class.
Makenzie Ellithorpe’s lawsuit, filed Aug. 10, names former instructor Matthew Gay Vedder, the district, and its director, who is also the defendant’s wife, alleging that a district provision allowing unlicensed teachers, combined with family ties to leadership, created an environment of inadequate supervision and training.
Vedder, 52, was indicted in July on four counts of supplying obscene material to a minor. The charges followed his April 9 resignation from Montgomery Central High School, where he had been placed on alternative worksite while the allegation was investigated.
Suit: Vedder looked ‘directly into plaintiff’s eyes’
Ellithorpe, who was 17 at the time of the incident, alleges that on March 9, Vedder showed her nude photos in a classroom during a normal school day, when she had approached him to ask about assignments. He told her he wanted to show her a “project” he was working on at home, according to the suit. Vedder showed her a picture of a trailer, then swiped to show a picture of himself nude.
“After displaying the nude photograph of himself to plaintiff, defendant Matthew Vedder looked directly into plaintiff’s eyes,” the lawsuit states. Makenzie was “shaken” by the display, held back tears, and looked for a way out of the classroom. Vedder then swiped again and displayed numerous photos of himself in thumbnail format, the suit states.
Vedder acknowledged to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office showing the photos of himself but said it was accidental. Ellithorpe and her family have maintained it was intentional.
Suit seeks $3.5 million in damages
The civil lawsuit says that as a result of the incident, Ellithorpe suffered severe emotional distress, including but not limited to psychological trauma and mental anguish, humiliation and embarrassment, fear and anxiety related to attending school, loss of trust in educational authority figures, and the need for ongoing psychological counseling and treatment.
A key aspect of the lawsuit is the claim that Vedder was employed under a provision permitting the hiring of teachers without teaching licenses. The suit claims this allowed the hiring of “an unqualified and untrained teacher” and created “a risk of harm to students.”
Ellithorpe is seeking $1.5 million in compensatory damages and an additional $2 million in punitive damages, plus legal fees and a jury trial. She is represented by attorney David L. King of Nashville.
Vedder’s wife, Dr. Jean Luna-Vedder, is the district’s director of schools. The district has previously said she recused herself from any part of the investigation or disciplinary proceedings involving her husband.
Clarksville Now has previously reached out to Matthew Vedder for comment. CMCSS does not comment on pending litigation.
Clarksville Now news partner WKRN-News 2 contributed to this report.
| BREAKING NEWS PUSH ALERTS: Sign up for our free Clarksville Now app