Man Abused By Wheeling Area Teacher Settles Lawsuit

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – A West Virginia school district has settled a lawsuit with a man who says he was sexually abused by a teacher and fathered four of her children.  The Intelligencer reports  Ohio County Schools settled with Christopher Birch on Thursday.  The April lawsuit said Bridge Street Middle School science teacher Elizabeth Harbert began grooming Birch when he was 13 years  old. It said the pair had their first child when Birch was a junior in high school.  Judge Jason Cuomo dismissed most of the lawsuit because a statute of limitation expired but Birch was still able to  sue for the negligent hiring of Harbert.  Birch’s lawyer says the settlement agreements are confidential.  Herbert pleaded guilty in August to third-degree sexual assault and was sentenced to one to five years in prison.