photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Mark Gridley appears at his competency hearing Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Douglas County District Court.

A claim by a child plaintiff that the Lawrence school district is vicariously liable for sexual battery by a speech pathologist at a Lawrence elementary school will move forward for now.

The civil lawsuit relates to allegations that the school district bears some responsibility for the actions of its former Prairie Park Elementary employee, speech pathologist Mark Gridley, who is facing multiple criminal counts of sexually molesting children under the guise of performing speech therapy.

Douglas County District Judge Catherine Theisen this week declined the school district’s motion to dismiss the claim of vicarious liability, finding that the plaintiff — identified as Daughter Doe — stated sufficient facts to give the school district fair notice of the nature of that claim.

Theisen further indicated that she was “unwilling to find that Gridley’s conduct is outside the scope of his employment as a matter of law,” noting that “scope of employment,” on which vicarious liability hinges, is generally a question of fact for a jury to decide.

The plaintiff had argued that Gridley’s ability to isolate and sexually abuse the plaintiff was made possible by the position of authority and trust he held as a school employee. The school district had argued that intentional criminal actions did not fall within the scope of employment and that Gridley’s actions were for his own benefit and were not the foreseeable result of his employment in the district.

The vicarious liability claim is one of three claims in the plaintiff’s lawsuit. The other two are that the school district was negligent in hiring and retaining Gridley and that the district was negligent in supervising him. The next court hearing in the matter is scheduled for Oct. 11.

Gridley’s preliminary hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for Oct. 2, 3 and 6. At that hearing, Judge Amy Hanley will decide whether probable causes exists to order Gridley to stand trial on 14 felony counts involving seven children.

Gridley, 61, remained in jail as of Wednesday morning after his bond was reduced Monday from $1.5 million to $750,000.