LA Unified School District Agrees to $3.55M Sexual Abuse Settlement
LA Unified School District (LAUSD) recently reached a settlement with two victims of sexual abuse by a former teacher in the district. The victims are identified only as Jane RE Doe and John AE Doe. The settlement provides for the LAUSD to pay the two victims a total of $3.55 million. Jane Doe is to receive $1.85 million, and John Doe is to receive $1.7 million. The separate lawsuits were filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Victims of sexual abuse may be able to obtain financial compensation for their damages. For more information, our California child sexual abuse lawyer at Beck Law P.C. offers free, confidential consultations.
Former Teacher Sentenced in 2013
The settlement comes from allegations of inappropriate sexual abuse, including harassment, abuse, and molestation. The illegal acts occurred on multiple occasions from 2004 through 2008. In 2013, former teacher Mark Berndt pleaded no contest to 23 charges of lewd conduct upon a child. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Some of his alleged illicit behavior included feeding children cookies that were laced with bodily fluids and taking photos, some of which had tape over their eyes and mouths.
LA Unified School District Previously Paid Victims
In 2014, LA Unified School District agreed to pay $140 million to 81 victims of sexual abuse by Mark Berndt. In addition, they paid $30 million to the families of 65 students who were abused by the teacher. Mark Berndt was formerly a teacher at Miramonte Elementary, part of the LAUSD. The sexual misconduct allegedly dates back to the early 1980s. Miramonte Elementary is a public school that has been in operation since 1912 and provides education to students ranging from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade.
School and LA Unified School District Administrators Failed to Act
The latest lawsuits against the LAUSD state that the school administrators at Miramonte Elementary, as well as the LAUSD officials, failed to act. The school allegedly received numerous complaints from students, teachers, and parents regarding Mr. Berndt’s inappropriate conduct. However, even though they had the complaints, they failed to do anything about them. School officials and administrators are required to report complaints such as these. As a result, Mr. Berndt remained employed and likely was able to assault many additional children.
Child Sexual Abuse in Schools
Unfortunately, this teacher isn’t the first or the last to be accused or sentenced for the sexual abuse of children. Teachers may be more likely to go unreported for sexual allegations because of their position of power and control. Teachers also may have access to children and might have time alone with a child. Children are vulnerable to sexual abuse and may be afraid to report it at the time. The law has allowed adults who were victims as children an extended period of time to take action against the perpetrator.
A school district could be held accountable for child sexual abuse if they knew about the alleged behavior and didn’t do anything about it. In this case, the LA Unified School District administrators got multiple reports of the alleged molestations and lewd behavior but did not take any action. If you are the victim of sexual abuse you suffered as a child, we are here to help. Call us today at Beck Law to speak with a California child sexual abuse attorney at (707) 576-7175.
