San Diego Unified School District Facing Another Lawsuit
Recent reports have surfaced that a San Diego Unified School District “top dog” asked an investigator to help him cover up a sexual abuse complaint involving kindergarteners.
In April 2015, parents of a kindergarten student filed a claim that their son was sexually assaulted by a classmate in the bathroom at Green Elementary. Principal Bruce Ferguson took little action and failed to make a report to police. Mike Gurary was hired by the school as an internal investigator. He spent months digging into the case and uncovered evidence that the principal did not act properly in response to the incident. He also found frequent absences and other sexual abuse cases improperly handled by the principal. The final report was 42 pages long and the investigator says it was cut down to about 11 pages to remove incriminating evidence in a cover up attempt.
The investigator has recently filed suit claiming he was fired for learning too much. He was told by several higher ups, including the Deputy of Quality Assurance, that he should delete much of his report because it was not within the scope of his assignment. “My goal was to protect the kids. I thought all the allegations I uncovered were pertinent…I was very upset. I was hurt. I thought I did the right thing.”
His attorney states that after his client repeatedly objected to the edits he was fired. He has now filed a lawsuit against the school district. He claims that the superintendent ordered the edits to protect the principal. Attorney Dan Gilleon has filed suit on behalf of the parents who claim that their child’s sexual abuse claim was also mishandled by the principal. He stated, “The people in power in the district are protecting themselves. They are not trying to protect the kids.” The court will now decide if concerns about sexual abuse in the school were handled properly.
Abuse of a Minor and Personal Injury
When a minor is sexually abused, the law requires that it be reported by teachers or other school personnel who discover it. When this type of abuse is not reported, it will likely continue. Those who know of it and fail to report it can face criminal charges as well as a civil suit. If you have a child who has suffered abuse, and the school or other caretaker failed to do anything about it, speak to the personal injury attorneys at the Gilleon Law Firm, APC in San Diego.
