Articles Posted in Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

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A lawsuit has been filed against Castilleja School, a private all-girls institution, by three former students alleging sexual abuse. The legal action, brought by the law firms Cerri, Boskovich & Allard and Mary Alexander & Associates, claims that the school concealed a tutor’s predatory behavior and failed to address complaints about his alleged sexual misconduct with minors.

The lawsuit accuses Castilleja School of negligent supervision, negligent misrepresentation, and inadequate training. It alleges that the school did not properly investigate or report prior complaints about the inappropriate behavior of tutor Mark Hodes.

According to the complaint, Castilleja School was aware of Hodes’ inappropriate behavior as early as 1992-1993. The school was reportedly on notice that Hodes engaged in highly inappropriate grooming behavior with minor female students, creating a risk of sexual assault.

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Lawsuit Alleges Negligence in Sexual Abuse Case Involving Autistic Child

A lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court has brought to light serious allegations of negligence against Trumpet Behavioral Health, LLC and its parent company, BlueSprig. The case, filed by the law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, centers on the alleged sexual abuse of an 11-year-old autistic girl by a behavioral therapist during home-based therapy sessions.

Trumpet Behavioral Health, LLC is a provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for children, teens, and young adults with autism and intellectual disabilities. The company offers both home-based and center-based services across multiple states, including California. In late 2023, Trumpet was acquired by BlueSprig, another ABA therapy provider.

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The Tamalpais Union High School District has agreed to a $17.5 million settlement to resolve four sexual abuse lawsuits involving former tennis coach Normandie Burgos. The settlement includes $11.5 million awarded to A.H., a victim who successfully sued the district in Marin County Superior Court (Case No. CIV2001133). This amount also accounts for over $1 million in interest after the district unsuccessfully appealed a $10 million jury verdict from 2022, which found the district liable for failing to protect A.H. from Burgos’ abuse.

The settlement also resolves three additional lawsuits brought by two former Tamalpais High School students and a private tennis player who received lessons from Burgos at the school. One of the victims, identified as John Doe, will receive $4.5 million for abuse that began during the 1999-2000 school year, when Burgos was still a probationary employee without tenure protections. Doe testified that a school administrator witnessed Burgos sexually abusing him but failed to intervene or report the incident, instead making a joke and walking away.

“None of these men should have ever been abused,” said attorney Mark Boskovich, who represented the victims. “The district’s failure to act enabled and emboldened Burgos to continue his predatory behavior.”

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Santa Cruz City Schools (SCCS) has reached a $4.5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard on behalf of two former students who alleged they were sexually abused by Steven Myers, a former SCCS teacher and principal, between 1987 and 1991. Each of the two men, now 49 years old, will receive $2.25 million for the abuse they endured during their middle and high school years.

Steven Myers, who was hired by SCCS in 1981 as principal of Branciforte Junior High School, was also the founder of the “Traveling School Summer Program,” a pilot initiative later integrated into the district’s curriculum. This program targeted students with behavioral and academic challenges, many from unstable home environments. Both plaintiffs, identified in court documents as John Roe 3 and John Roe 4, participated in the program during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They alleged that Myers used his position to create an environment that enabled years of abuse.

The lawsuit revealed disturbing details about Myers’ conduct during the Traveling School program. He reportedly incorporated massages into the curriculum, exclusively targeting boys, often shirtless, and required students to massage him in return. On designated “Body Theme Days,” students were instructed to wear minimal clothing; Myers himself wore a tight Speedo and required boys to do the same. Additionally, Myers allegedly provided drugs to students and invited them to his home for activities such as hot tub sessions. The lack of oversight allowed him to share rooms or beds with students during trips.

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Lawsuit Claims Inadequate Protection Against Alleged Abuse by Ex-Athletic Director and Coach

Delphi Academy, a private school in Los Angeles, is facing a lawsuit filed by the law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard on behalf of a former student who allegedly suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Randolph Clifford Jackson, the school’s former basketball coach and Athletic Director. The lawsuit, filed on October 18, 2024, in Los Angeles County, alleges a disturbing pattern of abuse and institutional negligence.

The lawsuit claims that John Doe, the former student, was repeatedly sexually molested by Jackson during the 2011-2012 school year. Jackson allegedly exploited his position to isolate Doe, providing car rides and assigning him as an athletic department assistant. The abuse occurred on school grounds, including the Athletics office, sports shed, and boys’ restroom.

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Lawsuit alleges that the District failed to supervise a John Glenn teacher after it was alerted to inappropriate red-flag behavior

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a lawsuit against the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that the district failed to adequately supervise a John Glenn High School teacher, which led to the alleged sexual assault of a student.

The plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, claims that the teacher, Raymond Niemann, exploited his position of authority to groom her for sexual advances beginning in 2008. The alleged abuse continued for nearly two years.

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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.

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The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a lawsuit against the Campbell Union High School District. The lawsuit alleges that Leigh High School teacher Shawn Thomas impregnated a student in 2003 and forced her to have an abortion. Thomas was arrested last month after the former student disclosed to police that he raped her while she was his student.

Click for a copy of the lawsuit

The lawsuit states that the victim, referred to as Jane Doe, was a freshman at Leigh High in the 2002-2003 school year. Thomas allegedly began grooming her for sexual advances and assaulting her multiple times on school grounds, including in his portable classroom and a storage room in the boys’ locker room. The lawsuit claims that Thomas’s wife Sarah, who was the Dean of Leigh High at the time, discovered the victim with Thomas in his classroom after they had been having sex.

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The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard in San Jose announces a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Emery Unified School District over the alleged sexual abuse of a 16-year-old student by a school security guard.

The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County, highlights the failure of Emery High School employees to address the sexual misconduct of security guard Daniel Parham, despite knowledge of his inappropriate sexual behavior with other students. Parham is accused of isolating and assaulting the victim on multiple occasions during the 2023-2024 school year in various locations on school grounds.

This legal action is rooted in the duty of educational institutions to provide a safe environment for students and to prevent harm, especially when there are clear indications of misconduct by staff members that endanger students’ well-being.

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The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a lawsuit alleging that a San Jose Jr. Sharks hockey player suffered sexual abuse as a result of the negligence of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, LLC (SSE) and its subsidiary, Sharks Ice, LLC.

According to the lawsuit, former San Jose Jr. Sharks hockey coach Kevin Whitmer allegedly began grooming John Doe in April 2021 and subsequently subjected him to multiple instances of sexual assault when he was 12 years old. The lawsuit contends that Whitmer would reportedly take the young victim alone into the locker room at Sharks Ice, the ice-skating facility serving as the official training venue for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

The Jr. Sharks are an affiliate of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States.

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