Akron woman says school leaders failed to protect her from pedophile teacher

Tricia Green is tired of being the focus of stares and gossip."You can just hear the whispers about me and what he did to me," she said.

Green, 21, recently settled lawsuits with both the Akron Public School and the Manchester Schools after she was molested by music teacher Randall Crane.

The two began a relationship when Green was 14 years old. She came forward to police two years ago.

Crane was arrested and later served six months in jail after pleading guilty to sexual battery."

All the other teachers knew that he was really friendly with the students," Green said. "I think schools need to take a precaution when they hire somebody."

Green said Crane first approached her while she was singing in the choir in Akron's Jennings Middle School. He knew about her tough home life and gained her trust, she said, eventually creating a physical relationship. Crane was married at the time.

What Green didn't know was that Crane had been investigated for crossing the line with female students in the mid-90's while working at the nearby Manchester School District.

School leaders there kept quiet about Crane's conduct and instead wrote Crane a letter of recommendation to Akron School leaders, who accepted Crane as middle school music teacher.