Lawsuit filed by alleged molestation victim of former Pittsburgh schools officer

PITTSBURGH — One of four men allegedly molested more than a decade ago by a former school police officer has filed a civil lawsuit.

The man, who was molested by Robert Lellock when he was 12 years old, filed the lawsuit prior to Lellock’s conviction Monday.

It took the jury about three hours to convict 44-year-old Lellock on 13 out of 23 counts -- most of which were felonies for molesting, fondling and forcing sex with students inside a janitor’s closet at Arthur J. Rooney Middle School in Brighton Heights during the 1998-1999 school year.

The three other victims, each now in their late 20s, have not filed lawsuits for the emotional and physical abuse they suffered.

“Once a conviction arises, you will see within a month all the complaints being filed,” said legal analyst Phil DiLucente. “They’ll name Mr. Lellock, they'll name the principal at that school, they'll name all the scope of employees from the school district, including the superintendent at that juncture, because proper security was not provided to prevent this type of act.”

According to court documents, 17 administrators outside of the Board of Public Education have been named in the filed lawsuit.

“I hope he rots in prison. I feel a sense of peace in my heart knowing that he can’t do this to anyone else,” one of the victims said after the verdict was reached. “(What he did) dramatically changed my life in all the worst ways.”

Channel 11’s Renee Kaminski said she thought that Lellock seemed “stunned” by the verdict and he shook his head as he was led away from the courtroom in handcuffs.

“There was no remorse whatsoever. His facial expressions didn’t change at all,” one of the victims said.

Lellock could spend more than 50 years in prison.

WPXI