US teachers 'fired for complaining about on-campus sex toys'

San Antonio, Oct 13 (ANI): Three former teachers at a school in the US are suing their employer, claiming that they were fired because they complained about on-campus sex toy parties.

The three teachers, Deanna Allen, Janice Mireles and Rosalinda Padilla, had taught high school and junior high-level classes at the small Gabriel Tafolla Academy.

They are seeking damages for alleged loss of income, mental anguish and damage to their reputations.

In a lawsuit filed in Bexar County, the teachers said they were fired by the Community Council of Southwest Texas Inc., which operates the school, after stories about the alleged parties ran in La Voz de Uvalde and on a local TV newscast.

In a June 28 report, KENS 5 cited three anonymous teachers who complained that Principal Deanna Kilpatrick participated in the parties and kept some of the items she purchased in her office.

The anonymous teachers were reported to have said that although the teacher who sold the items through Sensual Play Things did not have her contract renewed, Kilpatrick was promoted to superintendent.

The suit does not specify that the three plaintiffs were the anonymous sources, but it does claim their First Amendment rights were violated.

"The handling (or mishandling) of the complaints regarding the sex toy parties on school premises was clearly a matter of public concern ... " mysanantonio.com quoted San Antonio attorney Edward Pina as writing in the lawsuit petition.

Pina described the terminations, which occurred after one of the school's two campuses closed because of low enrolment, as "unlawful, oppressive and unconstitutional".

Kilpatrick has said that she has no idea a suit had been filed, and that she is not familiar with any allegations regarding sex toy parties. (ANI)