In the same month it settled a lawsuit concerning student molestation at Telfair Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District has been hit with another lawsuit alleging that its employees failed to properly respond to a sexual assault at Samuel Gompers Middle School. The legal guardian of 13-year-old female student filed the suit with the Los Angeles Superior Court last week. It alleges that school employees, including its principal, knew that a sexual assault was occurring and refused to take action to stop it.
According to My LA News, the incident occurred on April 22, 2014 and involved a group of boys who dragged the girl into the boy’s locker room. A female friend of the girl then ran to the principal at the time, Stacy Gholar, who told the friend that she was late to a meeting and could not help. The suit also mentions that a school employee heard the girl’s screams from the locker room, but also made no action to stop what was happening.
The boys abandoned their attack when they thought they heard someone coming. The girl, who was “in shock and crying” following the incident, was later taken to a medical center by her mother, who picked her up from school.
Holding Those Negligent Accountable
Last week, an LAUSD spokesperson indicated that they were reviewing the situation and “would check to see if any comment would be made on behalf of the district,” according to My LA News. The fate of the lawsuit is still unknown, but if it moves forward, it will mark another example of LAUSD employees who were negligent in the face of their responsibilities as trusted educators.
When this negligence happens, the victims deserve to have their injuries and trauma answered for in a court of law. While perpetrators can be charged and jailed, the institutions that fostered their crimes need to be held accountable in civil court. At The Senators (Ret.) Firm, LLP, our powerful team has decades of legal experience in representing and advocating for victims who deserve relief for the pain and suffering they’ve been exposed to.
If you have been hurt due to the negligence of an institution that should have been looking after your best interests, we invite you to contact our California lawyers today. We are ready to offer you a free and confidential case evaluation.