When Dennis Thomas started teaching at Cinnabar Elementary School in San Jose, it wasn’t long before school officials became aware that he was befriending young boys and taking them to his home or to places like the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz.
One time he even took a student on a Mexican cruise and he often sexually abused students at school – making boys sit on his lap, and inappropriately rubbing and touching them.
Female tennis sensation Kylie McKenzie sues USTA for sexual harassment and assault committed by its coach
Federal lawsuit filed by San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich & Allard and Florida-based Normand PLLC
ORLANDO, Fla., March 29, 2022 – A rising tennis star who was sexually assaulted by her coach has filed suit against the United States Tennis Association, claiming the organization and its player development affiliate failed to protect her from a known sexual abuser.
Sexual abuse, particularly child sexual abuse, is a plague upon our society that cuts across socio-economic lines, sexual identity, race and age. Its impacts are felt by individuals and families for generations.
When we hear stories about serial pedophiles like Michigan State coach Larry Nasser we wonder, “how did he get away with it for so long?”
One reason child sexual abusers get away with their crimes is because the abuse often goes unreported. The reasons for this vary and can include threatening victims and shaming them.
The day Allison Brown told police she had been sexually abused by her former basketball coach was life-changing for both her and Greg Marshall: he is now serving a 6-plus year sentence for repeatedly abusing Allison and she is working to recover from his abuse.
Allison was a student-athlete at Valley Christian High School in San Jose when Marshall began abusing her in the early 2000s.
In 2021, Allison hired Cerri, Boskovich & Allard to represent her in a sexual abuse lawsuit against Valley Christian, saying the school should have protected her from Marshall.
A horrific story of sexual abuse is detailed in an amended lawsuit against the Los Gatos Union School District and former fifth grade teacher Joseph Brian Houg.
The amended lawsuit, Case No. 21CV388845, was filed against the school district and Houg in Santa Clara County Superior Court by San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich and Allard.
Sexual predator Normandie Burgos, a once well-respected Northern California tennis coach, is serving a 255-year prison sentence after being found guilty in May 2020 of 60 counts of child molestation.
Some of the charges involved Stevie Gould, who was a 13- year-old tennis player when Burgos began abusing him. The abuse went on for two years.
Stevie is largely responsible for putting Burgos in prison: he secretly recorded the tennis coach admitting to having sex with a child and turned the recording over to police.
Another victim of former Piedmont Hills High School track coach Chioke Robinson is coming forward with her story of sexual abuse.
In a newly filed amended lawsuit, Jane Doe 2 claims that Robinson began sexually grooming her in the 2009-2010 school year and that Robinson sexually abused her starting in the 2010-2011 school year and continuing through the 2011-2012 school year.
The lawsuit states that the abuse escalated from inappropriate massages to sexual intercourse.
The Los Gatos Union School District and a former fifth grade teacher, Joseph Brian Houg, are being sued by the parents of a 10-year-old child who was sexually abused by Houg.
Due to the boy’s age and the sensitive nature of the allegations, the suit was filed anonymously on behalf of “John Doe.”
A new lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleges that former Piedmont Hills High School track coach Chioke Robinson repeatedly sexually abused a young female student both on and off school grounds.
The civil suit was filed on behalf of “Jane Doe,” who chooses to remain anonymous, by San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich & Allard.
The New Haven Unified School District has agreed to pay $2.25 million to three young girls who were sexually abused by their third-grade teacher, Michael William Howey, when they were eight years old. Two of the girls, who were represented by the San Jose law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, will share equally in the settlement with the third girl, who was represented by another law firm.
The first complaint about Howey’s inappropriate behavior came during the 2002-2003 school year when he was teaching at Cesar Chavez Middle School but school officials ignored it.
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