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District failed to protect eighth-grade student from abuse by former teacher Michelle Solis
Butte County — October 10, 2024 — A lawsuit was filed late yesterday (Butte County Superior Court) against the Gridley Unified School District on behalf of a former middle school student who was sexually abused by his teacher, Michelle Solis, at Sycamore Junior High School during the 2020-2021 academic year. Solis confessed to the sexual activity with the eighth-grade male student and in June of this year was sentenced to four years in state prison.
The lawsuit filed by the San Jose law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard along with the Carrillo Law Firm from South Pasadena alleges that the school district failed to supervise Solis and to protect the student, named as John Doe in the lawsuit, from predators like Solis.
According to the lawsuit, Solis engaged in numerous red flag behaviors, which usually precede sexual abuse. Those behaviors, according to the lawsuit, included Solis:
• Spending time alone with male students.
• Communicating with them outside school hours.
• Sending explicit sexual text messages.
• Providing nude photographs of herself.
• Isolating students in her classroom behind closed or locked doors during school hours.
Throughout the school year, the lawsuit states that Solis gave John Doe special attention, often inviting him to remain in her classroom after school under the pretense of assisting with homework. She allegedly arranged for a District yard duty supervisor to issue passes that allowed him to be alone with her during recess and lunch. During this time, she sent him explicit photographs. Evidence presented in the criminal trial revealed that she sent the boy four explicit photos and had sexual intercourse with him in her classroom on the day of his graduation.
On the day of Doe’s eighth-grade graduation in 2021, Solis, more than 30-years older, isolated him in her classroom and engaged in sexual intercourse with him behind a locked door. The lawsuit alleges that Solis had been sending inappropriate messages and photographs to other students for several years prior to these incidents.
“The digital revolution has allowed predators to gain access to children like never before,” attorney Mark Boskovich said. “The internet is now one of the most popular ways for molesters to groom potential victims.”
Solis initiated contact by “friending” the boy on Instagram and began messaging him weeks before his graduation.
Anyone with information about Solis or any sexual misconduct incidents at Gridley school is asked to call attorney Boskovich at (408) 289-1417. For those who speak Spanish, call the Carrillo Law Firm at (626) 799-9375.
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News Media stories on the Gridley – Michelle Solis lawsuit sexual abuse case:
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Lawsuit claims Gridley Unified ignored signs of teacher sexually grooming eighth grader
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Student Sues After Teacher Rapes Him in Classroom on Graduation Day
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