Nearly 20 Years After W.L. Abney Assault, Justin Bleker Returns To St. Tammany School Board Amid Lyon Controversy

Nearly two decades after Justin Bleker was sexually assaulted by a school janitor while attending W.L. Abney Elementary School in Slidell, Bleker and his mother are once again raising questions about student safety and accountability within the St. Tammany Parish Public School System.

Their renewed push comes as the School Board deals with a separate controversy involving E.E. Lyon Elementary School in Covington, where former administrators Lauryn Faciane and Tonya Barth pleaded guilty to violating Louisiana’s mandatory reporting laws.

The cases involve different schools, different employees and incidents separated by years. But for Bleker and his mother, Rebecca Hickman, the recent Lyon cases have brought back concerns they have been raising publicly for years.

What Happened To Justin Bleker

In the fall of 2007, Bleker was a fourth grade special education student at W.L. Abney Elementary School when school janitor Dino Schwertz sexually assaulted him in a school bathroom during school hours.

Those facts are established in a Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal ruling. The court described the evidence that Bleker was molested and raped by Schwertz as undisputed. After another child made allegations against Schwertz, Justin disclosed his own abuse to his parents, who reported it to the Slidell Police Department.

Schwertz was later convicted and sentenced to life plus 20 years for sexual assaults involving Justin and another child.

Bleker’s family filed suit in 2008. The case eventually proceeded to a five day trial in 2018 and then through an appeal.

One of the central issues became how the St. Tammany Parish School Board handled information concerning Schwertz’s criminal history.

Schwertz signed an employment application in June 2007 certifying that the information he provided was true and complete. When asked about prior guilty pleas or criminal convictions, he indicated that he had no such criminal history.

That answer was false.

According to the appellate court, the School Board received the results of Schwertz’s background check on September 19, 2007. The report showed criminal activity that included bank fraud and violations of protective orders.

The human resources official who reviewed the report testified that he did not pull Schwertz’s employment application and compare the information on it with what appeared in the background check.

The First Circuit ultimately affirmed the finding that the School Board was independently negligent in continuing to employ Schwertz after the background check revealed that he had lied on his application.

That point is significant because the case was not simply about holding the School Board responsible because Schwertz happened to work for the district. The court separately addressed the School Board’s own handling of the information it received about him.

One appellate judge disagreed with the majority’s separate finding of vicarious liability for Schwertz’s criminal conduct, but agreed that the School Board was independently liable for continuing to employ him after the background check revealed the false information on his application.

The Effects Followed Bleker For Years

Court records describe the lasting effects of the assault on Bleker.

Evidence introduced in the case documented years of treatment and problems that included recurring nightmares, night terrors, involuntary memories, sleepwalking, flashbacks and avoidance of public bathrooms.

The appellate court ultimately affirmed the judgment in Bleker’s favor.

But Bleker’s effort to speak publicly about what happened did not end with the lawsuit.

He and his mother later began appearing before the St. Tammany Parish School Board.

Official minutes from the January 21, 2021 School Board meeting list Justin, whose last name was misspelled as “Blecker” in the minutes, and Rebecca Hickman among members of the public scheduled to speak. Both were listed in the three minute public comment section.

Hickman says her son’s microphone was shut off while he was speaking to the Board about what happened to him and his concerns involving the school system. She has characterized what happened as an attempt to silence him.

That is Hickman’s account of the incident. The official minutes establish that Justin appeared before the Board and was scheduled for three minutes of public comment, but the minutes themselves do not establish the reason his microphone stopped or the intent behind it.

Justin and his mother continued returning to School Board meetings afterward.

Official records show Rebecca Hickman and Justin Bleker again appearing under public comments on February 11, 2021. Both also appeared on the April 8 and May 13 meeting records.

E.E. Lyon Cases Bring Child Safety Questions Back To The Forefront

The Bleker family’s concerns are receiving renewed attention following the criminal cases involving former administrators at E.E. Lyon Elementary School in Covington.

Lauryn Faciane and Tonya Barth were arrested in May after Covington Police accused them of failing to comply with Louisiana’s mandatory reporting law.

On September 2, 2026, both pleaded guilty.

Barth pleaded guilty to one reporting violation connected to a December 2025 incident. Faciane pleaded guilty to two counts involving separate incidents from September 2024 and April 2026. Both received probation, while Faciane also received suspended jail sentences, according to the certified court transcript of the plea hearing.

The Rabbit Hole previously reported details surrounding the Covington Police investigation as questions mounted about what occurred inside Lyon Elementary and whether required reports had been made.

The cases included incidents involving children at the school, including serious sexual conduct involving elementary age students. Prosecutors said the incidents should have been reported to the appropriate authorities under Louisiana’s mandatory reporting requirements.

District Attorney Colin Sims said after the pleas that two of the incidents involved students between approximately 8 and 9 years old and that those incidents had not been reported to the School Resource Officer, other law enforcement or the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.

The guilty pleas establish reporting violations by Faciane and Barth.

They do not, by themselves, prove that every school or administrator within St. Tammany Parish Public Schools failed to comply with mandatory reporting requirements.

But the cases have intensified questions from parents and residents about how reports involving children’s safety are handled and what oversight exists when required procedures are not followed.

Justin And His Mother Bring Their Story Back To The Board

For Justin and his mother, what has happened at Lyon has revived questions they say they have been asking since his childhood.

Their position is not that Justin’s case and the Lyon cases are the same.

Their concern is that both involve circumstances in which adults entrusted with children’s safety had information that required serious action, followed by questions about whether the system responded appropriately.

Justin’s own case provides a documented example of a breakdown.

The School Board received a background check showing criminal information that contradicted Schwertz’s employment application. The court found that the district nevertheless continued employing him and later held the School Board independently negligent for doing so.

Years later, Faciane and Barth have now admitted in court that they violated mandatory reporting requirements involving incidents at another St. Tammany Parish elementary school.

Hickman, however, believes her family’s experience should be considered as the School Board examines what happened at Lyon and evaluates whether broader changes are needed.

A Story That Began With A Fourth Grader

Nearly 20 years have passed since Justin Bleker entered a bathroom at W.L. Abney Elementary School as a fourth grade student and was assaulted by a school employee.

The criminal case against his attacker ended with a conviction.

The civil case established something separate and significant: a Louisiana appellate court affirmed that the St. Tammany Parish School Board itself had been negligent in continuing to employ Schwertz after receiving information showing that he had lied about his criminal history.

Justin then continued showing up.

He appeared before the School Board in 2021. His mother appeared with him. They returned repeatedly to public meetings, raising concerns about what happened and what they believed needed to change. Official School Board records document those appearances.

Now, in 2026, the family is speaking again as St. Tammany Parish Public Schools faces another serious controversy involving the protection of children.

The facts of Justin’s case and the Lyon cases must be evaluated separately.

But together, they have brought the same fundamental question back into public discussion:

When adults entrusted with protecting children receive warning signs or information that requires action, what systems are in place to make sure those warnings are recognized, reported and acted upon before another child is harmed?