YOUNGSTOWN — U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson has dismissed a federal civil suit accusing former Poland Township police officer and former Austintown Township Trustee Steve Kent of sexually assaulting a Poland Seminary High School student while she was a student in 2020 and 2021. Kent was a Poland school resource officer at the time.

The judge dismissed the suit Wednesday at the request of the parties, who are plaintiff Concetta Cougras and defendants Steve Kent, Poland Township / Poland Township trustees, and the Poland Board of Education. All of the parties filed a joint request for dismissal Wednesday.

The request for dismissal and the judge’s entry do not give a reason for the dismissal, only stating that it is “dismissed as to all claims, causes of action and parties, with each party bearing that party’s own attorney fees and costs.”

The ruling indicates that the lawsuit can be refiled at a later time.

A jury found Kent not guilty of three counts of sexual battery related to Cougras, but it found him guilty of one count of tampering with evidence. That count is related to Kent performing a factory reset on his cellphone June 6, 2022, one day after a Poland parent told him she was aware of Cougras’ claims and intended to notify school officials and police.

Judge John Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced Kent on Sept. 20 to one year in prison, but an appeals court granted Kent a stay of his sentence pending his appeal of his conviction and sentencing. Kent was released from jail Oct. 3 on a $12,500 bond set by the appeals court.

Last fall the township asked the judge to dismiss a part of the lawsuit that alleged the township and school board were guilty of negligence in hiring, training, supervision and / or retention of Kent in his duties as a school resource officer. The judge had not ruled on the motion.

In the filing, the township stated that Ohio law provides immunities “in connection with all governmental … functions performed by a political subdivision and its employees, whether performed on behalf of that political subdivision or on behalf of another political subdivision.”

The filing added, “By asserting an immunity defense, the defendant does not allege that there was no negligence. The defendant is asserting that it is protected from liability for negligence.”

The filing states the school board “hired a school resource officer through an agreement with the township. Defendant Kent was the township police officer with the SRO assignment in the school district from 2013 until 2021.”

The filing stated that the student “alleges that she was the subject of inappropriate communications and sexually assaulted by defendant Kent on a number of occasions in 2020 and 2021.”

“On June 6, 2021, plaintiff’s father became aware of the alleged conduct by defendant Kent and reported what he knew to the township and (school) board. On June 7, 2021, Kent was placed on unpaid administrative leave by the township. Subsequently, Kent was terminated by the township.”

The filing cites various Ohio court cases that it states support the township’s position that “the provision of police services is considered a governmental function,” entitled to immunity from civil damages. It adds that “federal courts have reached the same conclusion.”

The attorney for Cougras filed a response to the same issues in 2022. That filing urged Pearson not to dismiss any of the lawsuit, stating negligent acts were committed by defendants, which “removes the general grant of immunity” provided under Ohio law.