Man, 19, sues Lynn teacher for alleged 5-year sexual affair

LYNN – A 19-year-old Lynn man is suing his former teacher, alleging the pair carried on a sexual relationship that began when he was in the seventh grade and ended when she broke it off last year.According to court documents, Justice Gonzalez claims he was sexually assaulted by his teacher, Kristen Rillovick, when he was a student at the Cobett Elementary School in 2005.Gonzalez is suing Rillovick for assault and battery, emotional distress and a civil rights violation. The suit also names the City of Lynn as a defendant, as well as The Beach Club in Swampscott, where the teacher and former student worked together in the summer of 2006, according to the suit.Gonzalez alleges that when he turned 14 in 2005, Rillovick took him out for a sushi dinner and then to an adult sex shop, and later engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with him in her car.Court documents state that Rillovick continued to make sexual advances toward Gonzalez, including touching, kissing and excessive phone calls made to a cell phone she bought for him, throughout his remaining years at Cobett.In the summer of 2006, Rillovick allegedly helped Gonzalez get a job at The Beach Club where she was also a manager and the pair carried on the affair on the job. That fall Gonzalez became a freshman at Lynn English and he alleges in court papers that Rillovick followed him there, taking a job as a Spanish teacher. Gonzalez alleges inappropriate sexual behavior including kissing, fondling and oral sex took place on and off school grounds.During the next school year, Rillovick transferred to Lynn Classical High School. According to the lawsuit, the relationship with Gonzalez continued and by the summer of 2007, when he was then 16, Gonzalez moved in with and began sleeping with his former teacher.When Gonzalez was a sophomore Rillovick allegedly bought him a car, which according to the suit, he often used to drive her to and from work, “where they were seen by numerous persons.”Gonzalez claims the affair caused him distress and pressure. He states his grades dropped dramatically, and that Rillovick forced him to quit his job and quit the varsity basketball team to continue their sexual relationship.Gonzalez alleges that in his junior year at Classical, Rillovick began telling him he should drop out of school and move with her to Florida. Gonzales dropped out in April 2009 upon turning 18. Two weeks later he returned to the home he shared with Rillovick to find his belongings packed.It was then that Rillovick allegedly broke it off with Gonzalez, telling him she no longer wanted anything to do with him.The following fall, according to the lawsuit, Gonzalez confided in a Lynn English guidance counselor about the long-term relationship. According to the suit, the counselor, Matthew Wilkins, reported the incident to his superior but the school, despite promises to investigate the issue, never contacted Gonzalez.Gonzalez is asking for damages in an amount deemed just by the court. He is also suing the City of Lynn for failing to protect him when he was a minor and the Beach Club for a civil rights violation, for not protecting him from sexual harassment.Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy declined comment Thursday night, saying she knew little about the lawsuit and had not yet spoken to Superintendent Catherine Latham. Neither Gonzales’ attorney or Latham were available for comment,