Lawsuit

SDUSD Failed to Prevent Sexual Assault Involving Two Elementary Students: Lawsuit

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The San Diego Unified School District is accused of not taking enough steps to prevent an alleged sexual assault involving elementary school students.

The mother of the alleged victim filed a lawsuit, claiming there were warning signs an alleged assault could happen, and nothing was done to prevent it.

Between March and April of last year, an 8-year-old girl was assaulted by a then 11-year-old boy at Valencia Park Elementary School in Valencia Park, according to the lawsuit.

“Our client was assaulted multiple times on campus with no supervision and also off campus on the way home,” said the plaintiff’s attorney Dante Pride.

When the boy first arrived at the school in October, 2018, the school received multiple complaints about his behavior, “making hip thrusts at a female classmate, encouraging other students to tell the female students she was hot and he wanted to have sex with her,” the lawsuit claims.

The suit alleges the principal knew the boy had behavioral problems months before the alleged sexual assault, and did not report it.

“Our client, who was molested by a child who exhibited behaviors which should put a reasonable person on notice that something is going on in the home with this child, that this child is a danger, being a mandatory reporter, the principal should have reported that, and allowed authorities to investigate," said Pride.

The suit claims negligent supervision and failure of the principal to report the boy’s behavior.

“She knew she should have done something and had she don’t something, this would not have happened to out client. That’s our issue,” said Pride.

Had she done something, this would not have happened to our client.

Dante Pride, Plaintiff's Attorney

The principal did report the alleged sexual assault to school police which turned the case of over to the San Diego Police Department. SDPD said it does not investigate these kinds of allegations involving children under the age of 12 years old. The SDPD said the case had been turned over to Child Welfare Services.

The boy’s family took him out of Valencia Park Elementary School the day before the girl's mother reported the alleged sexual assaults to the school.

The school district said it could not comment on pending litigation.

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