Photo: Universal Images Group Editorial
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A 51-year-old woman who alleges she was sexually molested hundreds of times by a math teacher while she attended a Lakewood high school in the 1980s filed court papers today against the teacher and the school district where the campus is located.
The still-unofficial Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit brought by a woman identified only as Jane Doe refers to the teacher and district as Roe 1 and Roe 2, respectively. However, Artesia High School, which the plaintiff attended, is part of the ABC Unified School District.
Doe's allegations include sexual abuse of a minor, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She seeks unspecified compensatory damages against the teacher and the district, plus additional punitive damages against the teacher.
An ABC Unified representative could not be immediately reached.
Doe, who now lives in Riverside County, was 14 years old when she entered Artesia High as a freshman during the 1984-85 school year and Roe 2 was her math teacher in the summer of 1985, Doe's court papers state. Roe 2 began grooming Doe by sharing personal information and later spent time alone with her in his classroom and his home, according to Doe's court papers.
Roe 2 sexually abused Doe hundreds of times during the 1984-85 and 1985-86 school years both on and off campus, with some of the interactions taking place in his classroom and in a school bathroom, Doe's court papers allege.
During Doe's sophomore year, another female student told her she also was sexually abused by Roe 2, Doe's court papers state.
Administrators and other school personnel who saw Doe and Roe 2 together did not seek an investigation, Doe's court papers state. However, a school janitor in 1986 told the school principal that Roe 2 allowed Doe into his classroom after hours and police subsequently interviewed the plaintiff, Doe's court papers state. Roe 2 was later arrested and charged with seven counts of child molestation, according to Doe's court papers.
Roe 2 allegedly engaged in similar behavior with female students during a previous assignment at Cerritos High School, also part of the ABC Unified School District, but nothing was done to supervise him, according to Doe's court papers.
Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.