Two sisters who once attended Campbell Drive K‑8 Center in Homestead say that when they tried to report sexual abuse by a physical‑education teacher, the adults in charge turned on them instead of helping.
In a new federal lawsuit, the former students, who were 12 and 13 at the time of the alleged abuse, claim they were exposed to pornography and marijuana, groped by their P.E. teacher, and then written off as troublemakers when they spoke up. According to the complaint, counselors and administrators discouraged their mother from pushing the issue and treated the girls as if they were the problem.
As reported by the Miami Herald, the suit names Miami‑Dade County Public Schools, the teacher, and two current employees. The teacher, Joseph Edward Tolliver, has pleaded not guilty in the related criminal case, and a criminal trial is scheduled for September 2026, according to the Herald.
What the plaintiffs allege
The lawsuit was filed in federal court on April 30, with an amended complaint submitted on June 8, 2026, according to the court record. In that amended filing, the sisters say school officials questioned their credibility, suggested they try to record the alleged abuse, and ultimately told them not to come back to school.
The filings and timeline are laid out in the federal docket available on Justia.
A longer record
The allegations do not come out of nowhere. Earlier litigation and prior reporting raised red flags about Tolliver’s conduct at Campbell Drive K‑8 between 2021 and 2023.
A 2024 filing in a separate federal case described multiple reports involving Tolliver during that period, along with other incidents logged in school safety records. A federal court order in that case is archived on GovInfo, and local television coverage notes that Tolliver was arrested in 2023 after a 14‑year‑old student came forward, according to CBS Miami.
District response and what's next
Miami‑Dade County Public Schools has pushed back on parts of the sisters’ story, particularly on when the district knew what. Officials have disputed the plaintiffs’ timeline and say they did not learn of these specific allegations until after Tolliver’s 2023 arrest. The district has also characterized him as a “lone actor,” according to the Miami Herald.
The school board is slated to decide at its July 22 meeting whether to provide legal representation to the two current employees named in the suit, the Herald reported. District lawyers have also pointed to Florida’s three‑year limitation period for claims against public agencies, a rule outlined by the Florida Senate.
Legal implications
The sisters’ case is framed as a civil‑rights action under 28 U.S.C. § 1343 and seeks compensatory damages, according to filings listed on Justia.
Key legal fights are likely to center on when the district had notice of the alleged abuse, whether officials can successfully argue that Tolliver was acting entirely on his own, and how the statute of limitations applies to the claims.
For now, the civil case is still in its early stages, and the criminal charges against Tolliver remain pending. Community members and advocates are expected to watch the July 22 board meeting and upcoming court filings closely as more details surface in public records and hearings.
