A former student at a Palmdale high school who alleged he was sexually abused by another student has reached a $1.1 million settlement with the Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD).
According to the complaint filed in June 2018 in Antelope Valley Superior Court, the staff at Knight High School told the plaintiff’s mother that her special needs child, identified in the complaint only as J.O. Doe, was being sexually molested on his school bus by another student.
The school did not report the other student to the police or take any disciplinary action against him, but instead suspended the plaintiff for three days, according to the complaint.
“This settlement is one more sad example of the culture of abuse that exists within AVUHSD …,” plaintiff’s attorney Saul Wolf said. “Instead of meeting their legal and moral obligations to report suspected child abuse to law enforcement, they punished the victim and tried to silence his mother. These public entities must protect the children entrusted to their care, rather than enabling the abusers.”
In February, Manly Stewart & Finaldi, the law firm that represented the plaintiff, reached a $5 million settlement with the AVUHSD.
