The parents of an 8-year-old Plano girl who was allegedly among multiple girls sexually abused by a teacher have filed a lawsuit accusing school officials of failing to act on previous red flags involving the educator.
The 14-page complaint filed Thursday in Collin County District Court named as defendants Plano ISD, Brinker Elementary School Principal Jennifer King and former 2nd grade teacher Paul William Campbell.
Campbell was arrested July 8 and accused of continuous sexual abuse of a child. Three additional charges of indecency with a child were added July 22. The continuous sexual abuse charge is the most serious and carries a possible life sentence.
Campbell appeared at a court hearing Friday, where State District Judge Jennifer Edgeworth set his bail at $2.5 million, according to defense attorney Richard McConathy. The 64-year-old remained in the Collin County jail Friday, online records showed.
Campbell was employed by the Plano district for about 25 years and previously worked as an educator in Houston, McConathy said. A spokesperson for the district did not respond Friday to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit. King also didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
McConathy said his client was “as shocked as everyone else was” by the allegations. The attorney said Campbell maintains his innocence and believes he ultimately will be exonerated.
The girl’s parents, identified as John and Jane Doe in the legal filing, are seeking more than $1 million in damages, according to the filing.
The complaint states that it is being brought under a new state law passed by the legislature last year that abolishes a school district’s immunity under certain conditions in child sex assault cases. Chapter 118 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code waives government immunity in cases in which public schools are found to be “grossly negligent, reckless, or intentional” in the hiring or supervision of an employee who commits sexual misconduct or fails to report the abuse. The legislation was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott and went into effect in September.
“The teacher was allowed to continue teaching despite warnings of his behavior to school administrators,” the lawsuit said. “This is precisely the type of case that Chapter 118 was designed to address.”
The complaint said Campbell touched the genitals of the girl and other female second-grade students on multiple occasions during the 2025-2026 school year.
It also alleges that King received at least one other report from a parent about Campbell inappropriately touching their child, and a request from another parent to have their daughter transferred to another class, which was denied. King did not contact law enforcement, nor was the State Board for Education Certification notified, the suit said.
The girl reported the alleged abuse to Plano police July 4, the lawsuit said. An investigation began and Campbell was arrested four days later. He later was fired from the school district.
“We trust the criminal justice system will hold the perpetrator accountable for his actions, and we intend for the civil courts to hold the institution accountable for their failures in protecting the eight-year-old girls who were sexually abused,” the girl’s attorney, Zeke Fortenberry, said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. “We are thankful for the new Texas law that was enacted last legislative session which abolished immunity for public schools when a teacher sexually assaults a student.”