Ignatius found that Lynch, of Brentwood, had failed to prove that his dismissal was related to his sexual orientation and his decision to testify at the trial of Bateman, with whom Lynch had once had a romantic relationship.

“In short, the record is simply bereft of any direct or indirect evidence linking the 2017 termination decision to Lynch’s testimony at the 1992 trial,” she wrote in her order.

Ignatius also noted that the 25-year gap between the testimony and the termination was “significant.”

“This is not the case where Lynch testified and PEA terminated him in short order. Rather, Lynch enjoyed a 25-year career at PEA, which included promotions and awards,” she wrote.

Lynch has asked the court to reconsider its ruling.

The school has maintained that Lynch was fired after an independent investigation found that he was “aware of or willfully blind to sexual misconduct” by Bateman and had failed to report it to school officials.

PEA began its investigation into Lynch in 2016 after a former student came forward and reported that Lynch knew Bateman was involved in a sexual relationship with the student, who was a minor at the time.

In his statement to the school, the ex-student wrote that he believed Lynch “knew full well what Lane was doing...”

Lynch was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 30, 2016, while the school conducted an investigation into the claims.

In court documents, the school’s lawyers wrote that an independent investigation found that Lynch was “either aware of, or willfully blind to, sexual misconduct perpetrated by Bateman against at least two students during Bateman’s teaching career, as well as Bateman’s involvement in buying and selling large amounts of child pornography. Based on this finding, PEA terminated Lynch’s employment.”

Bateman worked at the school from 1980 to 1992. After his conviction, he was sentenced to five years in federal prison and died in 2013.

Lynch has claimed that it wasn’t until Bateman was criminally prosecuted that he learned Bateman may have also had a sexual relationship with a student while Lynch and Bateman were romantically involved. Lynch claimed he never witnessed any sexual activity between Bateman and the student.

Lynch was never charged with any crime. According to the school, the statute of limitations for prosecuting an alleged failure to report has expired.

Lynch’s lawsuit came shortly after PEA officials apologized to victims and the public when it released three reports regarding investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct by faculty or staff toward a student over the past 65 years. The reports identified 11 perpetrators who had once worked at the school.

RockinghamNews@unionleader.com