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New sexual abuse lawsuit provides insight into SFUSD agreement

A secret agreement between the San Francisco Unified School District and alleged sexual abuser Lawrence Young-Yet Chan removed Chan from his job as a high school athletic director but left him free to work at other schools and youth-serving organizations, according to an amended lawsuit filed today on behalf of a new victim.

There are now two women who have come forward to say that Chan repeatedly sexually assaulted them when they were students.

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The sexual abuse legal team at Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is investigating sexual abuse claims against two Salinas educators. If you are a victim of former Harden Middle School teacher Robert Dunham or John Fickas, call our office. The call is confidential.

Robert Dunham was convicted and sentenced for abusing multiple students. The DA’s office issued a statement following his sentencing, stating that Dunham had a history of inappropriate conduct aimed at students and other minor children with whom he had been trusted.

Fickas is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for raping and sodomizing four girls or women and for oral copulation on a teenage boy he coached at North Salinas High School. Fickas coached the girls’ junior varsity field hockey team and also acted as the varsity shot put coach for the track and field team at North Salinas High School.

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Two alleged victims of former teachers Gary Bettencourt and Dusty Norris seek to hold the enablers of their predators accountable for their sexual abuse.

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a sexual abuse lawsuit in Merced County Superior Court alleging that former Merced County educators, Gary Bettencourt and Dusty Norris, sexually abused two young students.

Identified as Jane Doe 1 in the lawsuit, the complaint alleges that Norris abused her during the 2004-2005 school year. At the time Norris was employed by the Merced County of Education (MCOE) as an ROP teacher at Los Banos High School.

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Sexual abuse victim was in second grade when she was sexually abused starting in 2006

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a sexual abuse lawsuit in Butte County Superior Court alleging the Thermalito Union Elementary School District was negligent for failing to protect an eight-year-old second grade student.

The student is identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit. She was abused between 2006-2009 at Poplar Avenue Elementary School in Thermalito, which is near Oroville.

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A total of five victims now accuse former Sierramont Middle School teacher Ronald Gardner of sexual abuse.

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard filed an amended lawsuit this week in Santa Clara County Superior Court (Case No. 22CV401151) on behalf of another sexual abuse victim of Sierramont Middle School teacher Ronald Gardner. The victims in the case allege that the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose was negligent in failing to protect Sierramont Middle School students from sexual abuse.

The new victim is identified as John Doe 3 in the civil lawsuit.

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In one of the largest civil jury verdicts in Santa Clara County history, the Union School District in San Jose has been ordered to pay $102.5 million to two young women who were sexually abused by former Dartmouth Middle School band director Samuel Neipp.

The school district has sought to overturn the verdict.

“It’s a high number but we’ve shown the court the verdict is justified,” attorney Lauren Cerri said. Ms. Cerri, from San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, represented one of the two women in the case.

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A Marin County jury ruled that the Tamalpais Union High School District was 100 percent negligent for the 2003 sexual abuse of a then-high school student by its then PE teacher and tennis coach Normandie Burgos (Marin County Superior Court, Case# CIV2001133). It awarded the student $10 million.

The student, Alexander Harrison, is now 36 years old.

His lawsuit against the Tamalpais Union High School District was filed in March 2020 by the San Jose-based law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard under the auspices of AB 218, which extends the statute of limitations to allow older child sexual abuse cases to be filed through December 2022.

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Teacher showed no remorse for abusing as many as 40 male students

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.

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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.

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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.

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