New lawsuit alleges Hilton principal abused student on weekly basis for 6 years

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The Hilton elementary school principal accused of sexually abusing multiple students over several years faces another lawsuit filed by an alleged victim.

This lawsuit against Kirk Ashton, the Hilton Central School District, and former superintendent David Dimbleby was filed on July 27.

Ashton has been on administrative leave as the principal of Northwood Elementary School since April 8. He was arrested on April 14 and charged with multiple felony counts.

According to the latest lawsuit obtained by News10NBC, the victim says he was abused by Ashton weekly for several years, starting in the fall of 2009 when he was in the first grade.

The lawsuit claims that between the first and sixth grades, the student would be called to the front of the class by teachers and instructed to go to Ashton’s office to eat lunch and do work, or he was told to go to the principal’s office by a counselor.

Ashton allegedly directed the student by Ashton to sit on his lap, after which he would rub and caress parts of the victim’s body. According to the lawsuit, the door to Ashton’s office was closed, and his office window was covered during the alleged incidents.

The lawsuit says Ashton had inappropriate contact with the boy at least three times each week in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, and at least four to five times a week in the 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2014-15 school years. The lawsuit also alleges at least three occasions of abuse in the 2011-12 school year.

The victim returned to the school in April 2021 to visit former teachers and encountered Ashton. The principal allegedly hugged him and rubbed his back — contact the lawsuit says was unwanted.

Ashton pleaded not guilty to more than 25 counts of various sex abuse charges, including seven counts of a second-degree pattern of sexual conduct with children, and seven counts of first-degree sexual abuse, both felonies. He’s also charged with 11 counts of misdemeanor endangering children.

A subsequent indictment unsealed in June included another 15 victims and 28 new charges, including sexual abuse, course of sexual conduct against a child, and endangering the welfare of a child.

Ashton remains in jail and is due back in court in August.