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A former student and her parents have filed a civil lawsuit against former Triton School Corporation (TSC) teacher Zachary Whittaker, wife Amanda Whittaker and TSC.
“When litigation has been commenced, Triton School Corporation’s standard protocol is to limit its response to court filings. Consequently, we will not be able to comment about the lawsuit,” said Superintendent Jeremy Riffle when asked for comment.
In June 2025, Zach Whittaker was sentenced to six months in the Kosciusko County Jail for child seduction and 18 months on probation after pleading guilty to child seduction, a level 6 felony.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in St. Joseph County, TSC and Amanda Whittaker demonstrated they had developed a reasonable belief Zach Whittaker was grooming the former student and initiating an inappropriate sexual relationship with her since July 2022 but failed to intervene or report the abuse as required by Indiana law. Amanda was an assistant principal at Concord High School at the time.
The former student and her parents seek damages for the harm Zachary Whittaker’s sexual abuse caused and for the failure of TSC and Amanda Whittaker to take reasonable steps to prevent the abuse for almost two years after they first suspected it was happening.
The former student said she was in Zachary Whittaker’s physical education class. The former student’s sister suffered from a health issue, which the lawsuit said caused worry and stress on the former student. Zachary Whittaker learned of this and encouraged a close teacher-student relationship with the student.
At the end of the student’s sophomore year, Zachary Whittaker asked the student to come to his home and take care of his dog for a week while he and Amanda were working outside the home. During this week, Zachary and the student exchanged telephone numbers and began sending text messages to one another and talking over the phone. According to the lawsuit, some of the text messages Zachary sent the student were inappropriate.
The lawsuit also alleges Zachary kissed the former student on multiple occasions and bought her a ring in 2022. He said wearing the ring proved her commitment to him and she was “taken.”
In July 2022, the student was working at a store and Amanda went into the store and Amanda asked the student about the ring. Zachary later told the student Amanda confronted him about giving the student a ring.
Amanda learned Zachary was talking to the student at night. The lawsuit claims Amanda confronted Zachary about the relationship with the student.
During the 2022-23 fall semester, rumors began to circulate at the high school that Zachary and the student were romantically involved. Triton High School Principal Nate McKeand began an internal investigation about the relationship.
According to the lawsuit, Amanda also confronted the student about her suspicions of the student having “an extramarital relationship” with Zachary. Amanda told the student to stay away from Zachary.
Amanda never reported her suspicions about Zachary having an inappropriate relationship with a student to the Indiana Department of Child Services, any law enforcement agency or the high school, according to the lawsuit.
In December 2022, one of the parents spoke with Triton Superintendent Jeremy Riffle about the rumors about Zachary and the student. Riffle told the parent the high school conducted an investigation. Riffle, according to the lawsuit, said Zachary was not involved in an inappropriate relationship with the student, according to the investigation. The parent believed Riffle’s statements Zachary was not involved in an inappropriate relationship with the student. McKeand called the parents and said he had investigated the rumors and the investigation showed no inappropriate relationship. He also said Zachary had deleted the student’s number from his phone.
McKeand responded to suspicions and rumors of an inappropriate relationship requiring the student to withdraw from a class she was taking with Zachary and not to walk past Zachary’s classroom. The student thought she was being punished. The lawsuit claimed she was scared to talk to anyone in the administration about the sexual abuse. Because of the investigation and subsequent restrictions, she was afraid of harsher punishment if anyone found out, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claimed the relationship turned sexual.
No Triton employee reported suspicions of an inappropriate relationship between Zachary and the student during the 2022-23 school year. He was allowed to continue teaching and coaching at the school corporation throughout the entire time the student attended the high school.
In the 2023-24 fall semester, the student met with several high school staff members, where the lawsuit claims she was told staff members believed the student was no longer a “good fit” to attend the high school and she should leave after the end of the semester.
Zachary continued to try to contact the student after she left the school.
The lawsuit says school employees may not delegate the duty to make a report to another individual and has a duty to immediately make an oral or written report of any suspected abuse to DCS or law enforcement agency. It also claims the student, a legal minor and student, was incapable of providing legal consent to engage in a sexual relationship of any kind with Zachary, who was not only an adult, but also a teacher and coach.
The lawsuit claims the former student and the parents have and will continue to suffer, including from counseling expenses, loss of income, medical expenses and pain and suffering.
The plaintiffs ask the court to enter judgment against the defendants in an amount to be proven at trial including compensatory damages, general and special damages, punitive damages, for the costs of the action and for all other relief just and proper.
