A woman is suing the school system, former Superintendent Sandra Carraway and the teacher who allegedly groped her at school after her claims were ignored for five years.
Madison Cooksey, now 22, has spoken openly to the media about what then-Columbia County special education teacher Scott Hooker allegedly did to her, as well as the system’s failure to act.
In an open Facebook post last year, Cooksey said she was 16 years old when Hooker had nicknamed her “grouch” and popped her bra strap in the time leading up to Valentine’s Day 2017, when he allegedly groped her buttocks.
Cooksey said she ran from the classroom crying and told a friend and a teacher about the incident.
The school district said it had involved the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office in an investigation, but Hooker remained at school, turning up in classrooms and hallways where Cooksey was, she said.
At the end of the year, Hooker resigned to take a position as special education coordinator for the Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics in Hephzibah, according to his Columbia County personnel file.
The only public actions taken by the system that year was a formal letter of reprimand by Evans Principal Michael Johnson calling Hooker’s behavior unprofessional.
It left any further discipline to Carraway and mentions a 2015 incident in which “a student referred to (him) as ‘Daddy.’” An assistant principal wrote a notice of concern about the 2015 incident but notice was not in Hooker’s file.
“The allegations that have been made regarding your interactions with female students, are, at the very minimum, worrisome,” Carraway said in a letter to Hooker.
School administrators and teachers are required by law to report suspected abuse, including sexual abuse in the form of fondling through clothes.
Only when Hooker was again accused of misconduct did authorities validate Cooksey’s claims.
In March 2022, a 17-year-old student at Burke County High School said for about two weeks, he’d been “making her uncomfortable” at school by hugging her from behind and pulling her hair. In a final act, he grabbed her from behind and touched her breast area. Hooker was taken into custody in April.
In August, a Columbia County Grand Jury would indict Hooker for sexual contact with a minor. In December, the Burke County solicitor formally accused Hooker of sexual battery, simple battery and sexual contact by an employee.
Hooker, 41, is a former Marine whose educational career has been in special education. He holds a doctorate of education from Liberty University and a Master’s degree in teaching special education from Augusta University.
He served as headmaster of Hope Christian Schools until it closed, worked at Kingdom Learning Academy then held multiple short-term assignments in special education at River Ridge, Evans High and Grovetown Elementary in Columbia County.
After five months teaching special education at the Academy of Richmond County, he joined the special education faculty at Evans in May 2014. According to state records, he taught students with moderate intellectual disabilities and emotional and behavioral problems. After his time at the Hephzibah charter school, Hooker joined Burke County in 2019.
Cooksey’s lawsuit said she suffered from mental anguish and suffering, depression and PTSD as a result of the Columbia School District allowing Hooker to do what he did and get away with it. She’s seeking unspecified damages and court costs.
