A Summerlin family has taken The Alexander Dawson School to court, accusing the private campus of turning a blind eye to years of bullying that they say ended in a sexual assault during an April 2025 field trip to Costa Rica. The complaint, filed anonymously in Clark County District Court, claims school leaders and trip chaperones ignored repeated warnings, failed to step in and then shifted blame onto the student who reported the attack. The suit seeks monetary damages and names the school’s trustees, the Alexander Dawson Foundation and multiple staff members as defendants.
What the lawsuit alleges
The suit, filed this month in Clark County, contends that school officials did not act on multiple complaints and that their inaction allowed bullying to escalate into a violent sexual assault on the Costa Rica trip, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal. The complaint lists the board of trustees, the Alexander Dawson Foundation, Principal Roxanne Stansbury and teachers including Kelly Gooden, David Perram, Torry Martin and Matsuko Freeman as defendants, and states that the boy attended Dawson from 2020 through 2025. The plaintiffs say they obtained a court order allowing them to proceed anonymously and are represented by attorney J. Randall Jones.
Criminal investigation and evidence
On a separate track, prosecutors have launched a criminal case after investigators uncovered a recording tied to the alleged assault. Reporting by 8 News Now states that a grand jury returned an indictment in January connected to a saved Snapchat video and that detectives found a clip of the assault in the suspect’s account. Law enforcement sources and court records indicate the recording has been treated as sealed evidence while prosecutors work out which Nevada charges can be brought.
School response and named chaperones
The civil complaint alleges that chaperones and staff knew about earlier bullying and harassment and that, during the Costa Rica trip, some teachers spoke with the students involved but did not send anyone home or impose discipline. In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Principal Roxanne Stansbury said the school “immediately notified law enforcement and fully cooperated with the Metropolitan Police Department.” The complaint also notes that the family has separate criminal counsel in the Nevada proceedings.
Wider context around the Dawson name
The Alexander Dawson Foundation runs schools in Nevada and Colorado, and the Colorado campus has already weathered its own abuse-related legal battles following a 2021 investigation of a former teacher there, according to reporting. That earlier case led to criminal charges, civil suits and the creation of a parent task force that pressed for policy changes, which helps explain why the new Las Vegas lawsuit is drawing extra scrutiny. Daily Camera coverage chronicles that history.
What’s next
The civil case is expected to move into discovery in Clark County while the criminal matter continues separately. Prosecutors and local reports note that jurisdictional limits complicate filing charges for conduct that allegedly occurred in Costa Rica, although Nevada authorities can still pursue offenses linked to images or electronic evidence stored or shared inside the state. With both an indictment and a new lawsuit in motion, the school and the foundation now face parallel legal scrutiny as depositions, hearings and pretrial motions stack up in the weeks ahead.
