In 2024, Jeanine Staples-Dixon, a tenured professor at Penn State, published a book that disclosed Plaintiff's childhood sexual abuse….
asserted
that → publish → abuse
In 2018, Plaintiff began working as a TA for Professor Staples-Dixon's Philadelphia Urban Seminar at Penn State.
asserted
Plaintiff → begin → State
This yearly seminar was held in the summer for a small number of students.
asserted
seminar → hold → students
As part of the course, Staples-Dixon instructed her TAs to share their "gender stories."
asserted
Dixon → instruct → stories
She explained that extreme vulnerability "was an essential part of the pedagogical value of the seminar," and she wanted her TAs to model that vulnerability for her students.
asserted
TAs → explain → students
To facilitate open and honest communication among seminar participants, every student was required to complete several intake forms pertaining to confidentiality.
asserted
student → facilitate → confidentiality
The forms stated that all information shared in class would be confidential, would not be shared outside the classroom without permission, and would be anonymized in the event of publication.
asserted
information → state → publication
Neither Staples-Dixon nor the TAs signed the confidentiality forms.
asserted
Dixon → sign → forms
During the summer 2018 seminar, Plaintiff shared a gender story relating to how competition and athletics shaped his ideas of masculinity.
asserted
competition → share → masculinity
However, Plaintiff felt that this story was "insufficiently vulnerable when compared to the highly personal gender stories share by other" TAs.
asserted
story → feel → TAs
During a planning session for the 2019 seminar, Plaintiff shared with Staples-Dixon that he had been sexually abused as a child by older boys who lived in his neighborhood.
asserted
who → share → neighborhood
Staples-Dixon encouraged Plaintiff to share his story with seminar participants because it revealed the exact kind of extreme vulnerability that she wanted to discuss in the course.
asserted
she → encourage → course
Trusting the norms of confidentiality in the seminar and the agreements signed by every student, Plaintiff agreed.
asserted
Plaintiff → trust → student
With Staples-Dixon's encouragement, Plaintiff continued to share his sexual abuse with seminar participants during the 2020, 2021, and 2022 sessions.
asserted
Plaintiff → continue → sessions
Plaintiff graduated from Penn State in 2022.
asserted
Plaintiff → graduate → 2022
In December 2024, Staples-Dixon published "Extraordinary Pedagogies: An Endarkened Feminist Approach to Revolutionizing Teacher Consciousness" through Teachers College Press.
asserted
Dixon → publish → Press
She based the book on the research she conducted during the seminar.
asserted
she → base → seminar
The book included the following passage recounting Plaintiff's sexual abuse:
asserted
book → include → abuse
Dr. JD McCausland talked about the sexual molestation he endured with his childhood best friend, perpetuated by a group of older, bigger teenage boys.
asserted
he → talk → boys
He talked about the confusion, anger fear, and stress he endured via the abuse and how he felt tortured in his gender identity and sexual orientation until he generated the strength to claim his identify for himself as a straight, cis man.
uncertain
he → talk → man
Telling these stories means locating your power.
asserted
Telling → tell → power
This is a feat, especially when one's gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation are crippled and corrupted by sexism, misogyny, and misogynoir….
asserted
identity → cripple → sexism
When Plaintiff learned of the book in late February 2025, he felt betrayed.
asserted
he → learn → February
Staples-Dixon never sought Plaintiff's consent to publish his story, and he was particularly shocked by the fact that Staples-Dixon referenced him by name and professional title.
asserted
Dixon → seek → name
The court allowed plaintiff's disclosure of private facts claim to go forward (the Pennsylvania term for the tort is "publicity given to private life"):
uncertain
term → allow → life
"To state a claim for publicity given to private life, a plaintiff must allege that the matter publicized is '(1) publicity, given to (2) private facts, (3) which would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and (4) is not of legitimate concern to the public.'"
uncertain
which → state → public
…
"A private fact is one that has not already been made public."
asserted
that → make → ?
A fact is made public "by communicating it to the public at large, or to so many persons that the matter must be regarded as substantially certain to become one of public knowledge."
asserted
matter → make → knowledge
However, "disclosures to a small number of persons do not" make a fact public….
asserted
fact → make → persons
Here, Plaintiff's disclosures to seminar participants were not substantially certain to make his experiences public knowledge.
asserted
experiences → make → participants
Plaintiff shared his sexual abuse with students during the seminar from 2019 to 2022.
asserted
Plaintiff → share → 2022
Each student completed an intake form stating that information shared in the course was confidential and would not be shared outside the classroom without permission.
asserted
information → complete → permission
Although Staples-Dixon emphasizes that neither she nor the other TAs signed that form, Plaintiff is entitled to an inference that the form and sensitive subject matter discussed in the seminar created an expectation of confidentiality.
asserted
form → emphasize → confidentiality
Indeed, even if Staples-Dixon and the other TAs could have discussed that information outside of the seminar, Plaintiff's disclosure to them did not make it substantially certain that his past abuse would become public knowledge.
uncertain
abuse → discuss → them
Given this context, Plaintiff has plausibly alleged that his sexual abuse was a private fact despite his disclosures to seminar participants….
asserted
abuse → give → participants
The court also allowed plaintiff's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim to go forward:
"'Liability on an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim has been found only where the conduct has been so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.'"
uncertain
conduct → allow → community
Here, a reasonable fact finder could determine that Staples-Dixon's publication of Plaintiff's sexual abuse was extreme and outrageous.
uncertain
publication → determine → abuse
She published one of "the most private and personal aspects of Plaintiff's life."
asserted
She → publish → life
And Plaintiff shared with Staples-Dixon and other seminar participants that "this abuse had caused him lifelong struggles related to trust, relationships, intimacy, and identity."
asserted
abuse → share → trust
In fact, Plaintiff alleged that Staples-Dixon encouraged him to share his story precisely for that reason—"to model the extreme vulnerability called for by the Seminar's pedagogy."
asserted
Dixon → allege → pedagogy
…and 37 more, not listed.
The Aporia
