PDF: Joal Henke motion to dismiss
The parents who accused a former schoolteacher of molesting their children could rack up at least $20,000 each in legal bills as they begin their defense in a massive defamation lawsuit, one Chattanooga lawyer said.
Tonya Craft’s ex-husband, Joal Henke, submitted a motion Monday to dismiss the claims in the $25 million lawsuit lodged against him and 14 others. In the suit, they are accused of conspiring to bring false allegations and manipulating the three children who said they were molested by the former teacher.
On May 11, Ms. Craft was found not guilty of 22 child molestation and related charges filed against her when a Catoosa County, Ga., Superior Court jury rejected claims by parents, friends of the parents and child therapists that she molested three girls, including her own daughter, while working as a kindergarten teacher in Chickamauga.
Documents similar to Mr. Henke’s motion followed all week long as defendants, including the Catoosa County government and the therapists who worked with the children, begin the process of responding to Ms. Craft’s allegations.