Settlement reached in civil dispute between former educator and student

It was a case involving allegations of sex and slander.. and tonight the civil lawsuits between a vice principal and student have been dropped.

In February, former Vidor High School Vice Principal Danny Ray Reynolds Junior was acquitted of four charges, including sexual assault and improper relationship with a student.

With the criminal case over.. both parties were pursing civil lawsuits until last week when Reynolds and the student both decided to drop their lawsuits.

Both attorney's are calling the dismissal, the end of a nightmare.  And it all started two weeks ago, when one party broke down and offered a settlement.

It started in February of 2008 when allegations surfaced about a sexual relationship between the 33-year-old Reynolds and a 16-year-old student at Vidor High.

Those allegations led to an indictment on charges of sexual assault and improper relationship with a student.  A year later, to the day, an Orange County jury found Reynolds not guilty of all charges.  But that wasn't the end of the court battle because the teen and her family had filed a civil suit against the educator.

After his trial, Reynolds' filed a countersuit against the teen and her family citing slander.  Reynolds' attorney, Larry Hunter, tells KFDM, a truce was put on the table in the form of a settlement two weeks ago.  Last Wednesday, both parties dismissed their civil claims.

Both Hunter, and the teen's attorney, Clay Dugas, say they cannot comment on the details of the settlement due to a confidentiality agreement.

Hunter says he's proud of both Reynolds and his wife, Sommer, "as a young couple, for going through that and standing up for themselves."  He also added that, "This case gives hope to other educators who are falsely accused that there is hope to get to the truth."

Dugas tells KFDM his client, "is relieved this is behind her. She's anxious to move forward with her life and is already moving forward with her education."

Reynolds returned to the administrative office of the Vidor Independent School District in March.  Later that month, the school board accepted his resignation request effective August 14th.

Reynolds' attorney tells KFDM the educator will continue his career as a teacher at the federal prison in Beaumont.