A lawsuit filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court earlier this week alleges that the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and an Alamo church failed to take adequate measures to protect minors from a school wrestling coach and church pastor – later sent to prison for sexual abuse of boys.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a then-16-year-old student molested by 28-year-old wrestling coach Kevin Lopez, maintains that the district conducted its own investigation into a parent’s report that Lopez was approaching and molesting boys – and took no action.
Under the state’s mandated reporter process state law requires that school officials notify authorities when they receive allegations of abuse. That was not done in the first case, the lawsuit alleges and police have confirmed, although police were notified when another parent filed a complaint against Lopez a year later.
District spokesperson Elizabeth Graswich said Monday that the district: “has not been served with the complaint, has not seen the complaint and will not comment on pending litigation.”
The suit seeks unspecified damages for “breach of mandatory duty,” negligence of district employees” and “intentional infliction of emotional distress” in a sum “greater than $25,000.”
How awful.
Nothing offends (and angers) me more as a parent and a Christian than sweeping child molestation under the rug. Especially at church or school. Where children should feel safe. When will society get out of DENIAL regarding child molestation?
Was mandated reporter in effect when the first molestation supposedly occurred?
About $5 million per plaintiff in Moraga. Just one complaint or have they left it open for others too?
I’m not clear. How can a school NOT call the police when a complaint of this type surfaces?
Do they have more victims?
Hard to understand how these things happen so often. But they do – over and over again. You would think they would learn how to deal with these things more effectively.
It would be interesting to know the statistics of these cases where a coach or pastor was named as perpetrator. It seems to be a great majority.
Hard to believe this keeps happening over and over and over again.