A 13-year-old girl and her mother have filed a federal lawsuit accusing former Lawrence Junior High School math teacher Brian Conway of grooming and sexually abusing the child, and accusing Clark County School District leadership of ignoring warning signs along the way. The lawsuit names the district, principal Allen Yee and Conway himself as defendants, and alleges that a vice principal had already warned Conway to stop spending so much time alone with the girl before the alleged abuse escalated.
The girl and her mother filed the lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court of Nevada, according to KLAS 8 News Now. Allen Yee is identified in the suit as principal of Clifford J. Lawrence Junior High School. Reports differ on Conway's age at the time of the alleged conduct, with 8 News Now describing him as 49 while an earlier Las Vegas Review-Journal report identified him as 48 at the time of his arrest.
Court records show CCSD hired Conway in 2025, with his first day listed as July 31. The lawsuit alleges his grooming of the girl began the following month, in August 2025, and involved gifts, tracking her location through a phone app, and messaging her on Instagram and the encrypted app Signal, according to the same report. The suit also alleges Conway wrote notes excusing the girl for being late to class and had lunch with her, both according to the lawsuit's account relayed by the station.
Allegations Escalated Inside the Classroom
By January, the lawsuit alleges, the relationship had moved from digital contact to physical contact on campus. Conway reportedly groped the child and kissed her inside his classroom that month, the station's report states. He is also alleged to have saved her in his phone contacts as “mi amor,” which translates to “my love” in Spanish. The Review-Journal separately reported that the alleged pattern included instances when he touched her on top of and underneath her clothing and kissed her.
The lawsuit says a Lawrence vice principal had already warned Conway to stop spending too much time alone with the student, but that the district failed to act. Attorney David Kiebler, who represents the teen and her mother, said CCSD took no action to investigate or address the pattern once the warning had been issued. Kiebler, of Greenberg Gross LLP, said the girl's parents were never notified that a teacher had been flagged for spending excessive time alone with their daughter.
Arrest, Indictment and Firing
The mother notified the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department after she said she saw explicit messages and photos sent by Conway on her daughter's phone, according to the lawsuit. Investigators accused Conway of grooming a 13-year-old student and having a sexual relationship with her, and he was arrested and indicted in February 2026 on charges related to sex crimes against children. Court records reviewed by 8 News Now show a Clark County grand jury indicted Conway on four counts of using a minor under 14 to produce sexual abuse material, four counts of lewdness with a child under 14, possession of a visual presentation depicting sexual conduct of a child, and luring children through technology with intent to engage in sexual conduct.
The Review-Journal reported that Conway was indicted on February 19 on charges including producing child sexual abuse material with a minor under 14, technology-based luring, possession of child sexual abuse material, and lewdness with a child under 14. CCSD confirmed it fired Conway that same month. He remains held in the Clark County Detention Center, and a judge denied his motion last month to have some of his charges dismissed, per 8 News Now's report.
Broader Concerns Raised in Lawsuit
Court filings reviewed by the Review-Journal describe a broader pattern the plaintiffs' attorney is hoping to address: the outlet reported that a Clark County School District police officer testified to the Nevada Legislature in 2023 that between 13 and 15 CCSD staff members are arrested each year on suspicion of child sexual exploitation. Las Vegas police previously said they believed there could be additional victims because Conway was a teacher with ties to local students, according to News 3 Las Vegas.
Kiebler said CCSD could adopt policies and training to help staff recognize and stop grooming, along with better monitoring of surveillance cameras. He said the family's goal in filing suit includes securing parental notification requirements and other systemic fixes, rather than damages alone. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $75,000 in general and compensatory damages, punitive damages, and legal fees, according to the Review-Journal's review of the filing.
Reports have also differed on exactly who is named as a defendant: the Review-Journal reported that the lawsuit names CCSD, Superintendent Jhone Ebert, Lawrence Junior High Principal Allen Yee and Conway, while 8 News Now's account named the district, Yee and Conway. The Clark County School District said student safety is one of its top priorities but declined to comment further on the pending litigation, according to 8 News Now.
