CLEVELAND (OH)
WJW-TV, Fox - 8 [Cleveland OH]
January 16, 2026
By Justin Dennis
CANTON, Ohio (WJW) — A former Archbishop Hoban High School student is suing school administrators, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland and others, alleging the school’s former theater director and choir teacher sexually assaulted her numerous times on campus and at his home.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Jan. 13, in Stark County Common Pleas Court, names former teacher Chad C. Kendall, 37, of Akron, now awaiting trial on 10 felony counts of sexual battery; school administrators including President Christopher DiMauro and principals T. Kirk Griffith and Catherine Perrow; and Brothers of Holy Cross, an Indiana religious order operating in Northeast Ohio.
The new lawsuit alleges the student — who has not been identified and is named in the complaint as Jane Doe — attended the Akron private parochial school from 2021 until graduation in May 2025. She connected with Kendall through Snapchat, according to the complaint. He began communicating her through texts and solicited sexual photographs.
Kendall “targeted, groomed and ultimately sexually assaulted Jane [Doe] multiple times, including on Hoban’s campus during school hours,” the complaint reads.
The alleged sexual conduct happened between July 2023 and April 2024, starting when the girl was 16 years old, according to the complaint. It happened during school hours in the theater’s backstage area, and also at Kendall’s North Canton home, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges Kendall had a documented history of “unacceptable behavior” toward female students, and that he even took a group of female students on an unsanctioned trip to Cleveland, for which he did not face any “significant disciplinary action” from the school.
“Before, during and after Kendall sexually assaulted Jane, Hoban was on notice that Kendall engaged in inappropriate behavior with female students,” the complaint reads. “Hoban failed to intervene and protect its students, including Jane [Doe].”
Kendall was arrested in June on a misdemeanor count of assault stemming from a March 2024 incident in which he allegedly grabbed a student by the neck during rehearsal for a high school play, according to a police report.
Kendall admitted to grabbing the student during an interview with police, according to a report.
“Although the administration was fully aware of the incident, Hoban did little to nothing in response, and Kendall remained in the same positions on Hoban’s staff,” the complaint reads. “It wasn’t until the student went to the police nearly a year later in February 2025, and Kendall was charged in June 2025, that Hoban finally placed Kendall on administrative leave.”
During the assault investigation, two students came forward “detailing their sexual relationships” with him, which allegedly happened between the spring 2023 and fall/winter 2024 semesters, according to a police report obtained by FOX 8 News. The alleged victims said they were 16 and 17 years old at the time, according to the report.
After authorities searched Kendall’s home and electronic devices, city prosecutors authorized the sexual battery charges, according to the report.
Since then, Hoban has allegedly instructed students not to discuss Kendall or his allegations of sexual assault, “further demonstrating Hoban’s pattern of ‘looking the other way’ and secrecy,” reads the complaint.
The lawsuit bring several counts, including breach of fiduciary duty involving the students, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery, among others. It seeks an unspecified amount in punitive damages.
Kendall was indicted by a Summit County grand jury in August and surrendered to authorities, FOX 8 News previously reported. He no longer works at the school, a spokesperson said.
His sexual battery case is set for trial on April 14, according to court filings.
by: Justin Dennis