A teacher named as a defendant in the lawsuit of an Upper St. Clair student who said she was raped in the high school stated in a court filing yesterday that none of the three claims against her should stand because, among other reasons, she was never employed by the district.

Instead, Esther R. von Waldow was employed by Wesley Spectrum Services, which contracted with Upper St. Clair School District to provide behavioral intervention services for the district. Ms. von Waldow is an intervention specialist.

The student suing the district, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, said she was raped in a school stairwell on Feb. 4 by a boy identified as Michael Roe. The lawsuit, filed June 30, alleges that the boy raped or assaulted other female students as well.

Eight people are named as defendants, including the high school principal and district superintendent.

Last week, the school district filed a motion to dismiss some of the counts, saying that Ms. von Waldow was the only person aware of the potential problems with Mr. Roe, and that she was not a school employee.

Yesterday, in her own motion to dismiss and the supporting 37-page brief, Ms. von Waldow claims that she had no affirmative duty to protect Jane Doe from any private individual. Further, she said that as an independent contractor, she had no control over any of the policies, procedures or implementation of security measures taken within the school.

In the lawsuit, Jane Doe says that Ms. von Waldow was aware of Michael Roe's previous sexual assaults on the girl.

In the original complaint, the plaintiffs also say that the teacher alerted administrators to the alleged danger posed by Michael Roe, that she requested authority to provide enhanced supervision of Jane Doe and that she requested to walk the girl to her bus.

All of those things, Ms von Waldow claims in her brief, were ignored or forbidden by school officials.

"One is left to question what more would or should be required of an independent contractor employee than to promptly notify the officials and individual defendants on whom Jane Doe's safety depended," wrote defense attorney Samuel W. Braver. "[She] is the only individual defendant who took any action to notify school officials."

Mr. Roe is facing a variety of charges, including rape.