A group of former La Jolla High School students who said a now-retired teacher sexually abused them have settled their lawsuit against the teacher, the school's ex-principal and the San Diego Unified School District, it was announced Wednesday.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 and alleged that physics teacher Martin Teachworth groped multiple underage students over the course of several years. Teachworth retired in 2017 and his teaching credential was revoked two years later. The former students further alleged in their suit that district officials failed to discipline Teachworth despite numerous complaints levied against him regarding the inappropriate touching of students.
Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, but the San Diego Unified School District said in a statement that a review of district policies for handling sexual assault allegations "has resulted in changes and improvements that have since been implemented.''
The news release mentioned one of the victims, Loxi Gant, and credited her with impact through advocacy and work with the district. Gant said that in 2003, Teachworth groped her. She told NBC 7 and its media partners at the Voice of San Diego that she reported it to the principal 15 minutes after it occurred.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
In 2017, the Voice of San Diego published an investigation into the allegations that revealed documents that, in fact, confirmed the principal had spoken with Teachworth. It also stated that more than a handful of students, including Gant, reported that Teachworth inappropriately touched them between 2002-03.
But, Gant said, nothing further happened in terms of disciplinary actions.
Gant couldn’t share details about the monetary settlement of the suite but told NBC 7 on Wednesday that it doesn’t necessarily bring closure. Instead, she said, the settlement shows that her advocacy work is making a difference.
Local
“It’s been a privilege and an honor to be able to walk other people through this process and take everything that I have learned through all the cases that I have worked on, really move that message forward in the type of way that we can stop these types of cases and incidents from happening,” Gant said..
The former La Jolla High student has worked with multiple sexual abuse victims across the country and with state legislators to change policy and procedure, expanding funding for safer forensic interviews with children and also implementing mandatory reporting training for any employees or volunteers who work with children over a certain number of hours.
“Capture predators but ... also give that child a feeling of safety and a holistic approach into a disclosure, which is a very hard thing for a child to do,” Gant said.
The district will continue to review and update its policies annually to remain current and consistent with the latest improvements in best practices and laws, officials said after the settlement.
"The district respects the courage of the claimants in this matter for speaking out and remains committed to making the safety of its students a top priority,' Lauren Cerri, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. "There was real harm done to these women and they've been validated.''
The earliest incident outlined in the lawsuit was an allegation that Teachworth put his hands down the back of a female student's pants in 2003, which was reported to district officials.
According to legal documents, several more students also came forward during the 2012-13 school year. The lawsuits alleged that complaints piled up against Teachworth but that he continued teaching until his retirement and no concrete disciplinary action was taken against him.
Teachworth was removed from his classroom for two weeks in 2016 and placed on paid administrative leave after a student reported he made advances but returned to the classroom without any further reprimand, the complaint stated.
NBC 7 spoke with Teachworth’s attorney, who said that their client was very “pleased with the settlement” and looked forward to moving on with his life. He maintains that there was no intentional wrongdoing.
