E-mail correspondence between South Dakota school officials that displays photos of topless women has ignited a discovery dispute in the case of a former student who alleges a teacher sexually assaulted her.

The Mitchell School District has filed a motion for an order sealing the e-mails, arguing they are “irrelevant” to the claims of Brittany Plamp and public disclosure “may potentially impact the jury pool.” Plamp alleges a Mitchell High School teacher included in the correspondence, Andrew Tate, touched her inappropriately when she was a student in 2006.

“[I]t is anticipated the documents would be used by Plaintiff primarily to attempt to 'shock' the jury,” the district says.

One of the e-mails, entitled “Golf Attire,” was sent by School Board President Bob Eversen to Tate and Terry Aslesen, a former Mitchell High principal who now teaches there. Attached to the e-mail are photos of topless women playing golf.

But Plamp insists the emails “illustrate the insensitive attitude” of district officials toward sexual harassment and discrimination and therefore support her civil-rights claims.

“[T]his case involves a South Dakota school district accused of permitting sexual harassment and/or discrimination to occur within the hallways of its schools,” she says in her response to the sealing motion. “This is a case where the public should not be deprived of access to the information in [the] case.”

Plamp attached the e-mails as exhibits to a brief opposing the district's motion for summary judgment. In addition to the “Golf Attire” e-mail, she included a message, sent by Aslesen to Tate and two others, which has “Golf Tee's” in the subject line and, again, features bare-breasted women.

“[T]he e-mails are of a sexually inappropriate and harassing nature because they objectify women,” she argues.

Tate was a government teacher and girl's golf coach at Mitchell High. Plamp testified in a deposition that he assaulted her in his classroom, lifting her shirt to the bra line and feeling her “whole butt” during a conversation about her health and eating habits.

Trial in the case is set for June 24 in Sioux Falls. The school district says “no gain would be had in allowing the public access to the exhibits” and that it “anticipates filing a motion in limine to prohibit these documents from being utilized or referred to at trial.”