Earlier this month, a lawsuit was filed against Pembroke Hill School and former teacher Michael Jones for allegedly sexually abusing a fourth grade student during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Jones is a 2006 graduate of Kanakuk Institute and worked at Kanakuk Colorado until 2007, when he began his teaching career.
The complaint alleges Jones groomed Jane Doe, a 9-year-old student in his fourth grade class, over the course of the school year, eventually escalating his conduct to sexual abuse.
The complaint alleges Jones groomed Jane Doe, a 9-year-old student in his fourth grade class.
Pembroke Hill School is a private preparatory school in Kansas City, Mo. The complaint asserts that supervision of students was “lax,” which enabled Jones to isolate Doe on numerous occasions in unsupervised locations, such as his classroom. At times, Jones allegedly pulled her out of school activities to spend time together but never was questioned by the school’s administration.
During this alone time, Jones allegedly would discuss sexually explicit topics with Doe, such as his sexual desires, previous divorce and marital problems in his second marriage, such as “his wife not sexually pleasing him.” Doe says Jones eventually and repeatedly sexually abused her in his classroom by “rubbing her legs and upper thighs with his hand, grazing her underwear with his hand, groping her breasts with his hand, and kissing her, all for the purpose of his sexual gratification.”
This caused her mental health to decline significantly during her fourth grade year, her family says.
Doe disclosed this experience of abuse to her family in the fall of 2024, following which her parents promptly reported these allegations to Pembroke leadership. For two additional months, Jones was continually allowed unrestricted access to students.
He finally resigned in January of 2025, after the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division substantiated the allegations of abuse and neglect in a preliminary finding. However, Jones appealed this decision and, following a December 2025 Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board hearing, the finding was “reversed.”
By winning the appeal, Jones avoided being placed on Missouri’s Central Registry for Child Abuse and Neglect.
While Pembroke representatives say they cooperated fully with investigators, parents are raising questions about whether Jones was properly vetted.
Prior to teaching at Pembroke, Jones worked as a third grade teacher at Académie Lafayette, a French immersion school in Kansas City. Two families say they made reports to the school after learning of inappropriate behaviors Jones allegedly engaged in with their daughters, whom they say he groomed and singled out.
One family told an administrator Jones kissed their daughter on the cheek and told her he liked her. Another family says he played a “game” with their daughter which required them to spank each other. Other parents say Jones would brush or braid their daughters’ hair and otherwise engage in unnecessary touching. Despite allegations, Jones remained teaching until the school year was over.
When Pembroke offered Jones a position in 2016, one parent claims they reached out to administrators to warn them of these allegations but the school continued the hiring process.
“I can’t believe it happened again,” said John Couture, who alerted an Académie Lafayette administrator in 2015 about Jones’ allegedly inappropriate behavior toward his daughter when she was in his third grade class. “And it was allowed to happen again. … It seems like somewhere along the line it was preventable.”
There are no public accusations against Jones related to his time working with Kanakuk Ministries, although survivor advocates have publicized this new lawsuit on their advocacy website, Facts About Kanakuk. They say Jones, along with his first wife, was “heavily involved with Kanakuk Ministries in both their Missouri and Colorado locations,” and encourage those with more information about him to submit a contact form on their website.
Child sexual abuse has been a rampant problem at Kanakuk in the past, as documented in multipole BNG articles and the BNG podcast series “Non-Disclosure.”
Christine Dunn, one of Doe’s attorneys, gave this statement regarding the lawsuit: “What happened to my client was entirely preventable. Pembroke was on notice that this teacher was a danger to children, yet they allowed him unfettered access to children. As a result of Pembroke’s negligent failure to keep its students safe, a young girl endured extreme trauma and emotional distress that continues to this day — even years after the abuse.”
Jane Doe is represented by attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight — Christine Dunn and Jillian Seymour. She also is represented by local counsel Jarrett Johnson, an attorney at a Kansas City law firm.