A former Whitehorse student who claims he or she was sexually assaulted by a local teacher 30 years ago is suing the Yukon government.

Documents filed this week in the Yukon Supreme Court say the complainant was a young child at the time of the repeated abuse. The assaults occurred over the course of one school year, in 1974-1975.

During this time, the child was 'repeatedly sexually assaulted' by a teacher at Takhini Elementary School. The teacher, who is now deceased, is identified only as J.C.

The government is being held responsible for the abuse as head of education in the Yukon Territory, the documents state.

Court documents say the government should have known J.C. was at risk of sexually abusing children and failed to recognize the threat posed by leaving the teacher alone and unsupervised with young children for long periods of time. It should also have warned parents and children of his sexual predation and tried to ensure the victim's safety.

The documents charge the government with a breach of care for failing to protect the young student from the abusive situation.

The complainant is seeking compensation for emotional and physical suffering, as well as ongoing medical costs. As a result of the abuse, the former Takhini Elementary student suffers from alcohol abuse and has difficulty completing school and holding a job, the documents say.

The court is also being asked to take loss of income into account.

While civil suits arising out of sexual abuse at Indian residential schools are commonplace in the Yukon and across Canada, similar suits by students sexually abused by teachers in the territory's public school system are very uncommon, if not non-existent.

In recent memory, there have been cases of Whitehorse teachers convicted of sexual abuse.