Former Students Seeking $345M Over Alleged Sexual Abuse

Twenty men who say they were sexually abused decades ago as students at a northwest Georgia private school are seeking $345 million in damages from the school’s insurers.

The former students recently settled a lawsuit against Roger Stifflemire, a longtime teacher and dorm supervisor at the Darlington School in Rome.

Although Stifflemire was not required to compensate the former students, the settlement cleared the way for the former students to pursue an insurance settlement for themselves.

Late last year, the former students reached a separate settlement with Darlington. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The insurance companies covered Darlington during the years that Stifflemire allegedly abused students on school property or on school-sanctioned trips.