Los Angeles School Sexual Abuse Lawsuits and Settlements

A Los Angeles school sexual abuse case usually begins with the person who committed the abuse. The next step is figuring out what the adults in charge knew (or should have known).

Most predators in a school setting do much of their legwork in plain sight. A teacher or coach who texts students privately, drives them places, often that are not home, or has one-on-one meetings behind a closed door. One principal may have known about a boundary violation while the district office held a separate complaint from another campus.

Sometimes this is innocent. Teachers do take a strong interest in their students and can show signs of being a predator when they are not. So what is a school to do? Pay attention. See what is there to be seen and follow up on it. What our lawyers see way too often in these cases is, “That’s Joe, he is just like that,” without any further review and without taking signs of predator behavior to higher authority.

Los Angeles now knows full well the cost of failing to do what you must to protect children. The Los Angeles Unified School District has paid more than $200 million in claims connected to former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt. A Los Angeles County jury returned a $48 million verdict for six former students abused by a teacher at a different Miramonte Elementary School in South El Monte. Another jury awarded $26 million to a former Pasadena Unified student who was sexually assaulted by classmates after she was left without required supervision. And the list goes on and on as you will see below.

The purpose of this page is to explain how these cases work, whether you might be eligible, the settlement amount victims see, and give you food for thought if you are considering seeking compensation for what you went through.

How a Los Angeles School Becomes Legally Responsible

Obviously, the perpetrator is responsible for the crimes committed against children. But there are not many Jeffrey Epsteins out there.  So you need a responsible institution to get a meaningful recovery. You only have that if you have a viable negligence claim against the school. Common liability theories include:

• Hiring an employee without a reasonable background or reference investigation. This is probably the least common case we see.
• Failing to supervise classrooms, locker rooms, athletic travel, tutoring, transportation, or after-school activities.
• Retaining or quietly transferring an employee after they have reason to believe the employee is a sexual predator of children.
• Allowing secret text messages, gifts, private rides, overnight travel arrangements, or off-campus meetings… all classic grooming behaviors.
• Failing to make a report required by the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act.
• Conducting a superficial internal investigation and restoring access to a possible predator to students.
• Failing to respond reasonably to known sexual harassment or abuse by another student.
• Giving a departing employee a clean reference despite a documented safety concern.
• Retaliating (or simply ignoring) against a student, parent, teacher, or coach who reported misconduct.

New California 2026 reforms under Senate Bill 848 require covered schools to adopt professional-boundary policies addressing social media, electronic communications, transportation, and other classic grooming techniques. The law also expands training and safety planning duties. This helps lawyers bring these claims because it sets a clear floor for what schools must do when confronted with these issues.

Different Kinds of Los Angeles School Abuse Claims

These are the main types of school sexual abuse lawsuits:

Abuse by a Teacher or School Employee

The most common claims we see involve teachers.  They have the most access and the best opportunity to slow-walk their grooming efforts.  These cases often have the clearest institutional trail because the school selected the employee and controlled access to children.

Abuse by a Coach

The second most common claims our lawyers see are against coaches.  Sports in LA are a big deal, and the power imbalance between coach and student can be even stronger than that between teacher and student.

Sexual Assault or Harassment by Another Student

The Pasadena Focus Point Academy verdict we talk about below shows the seriousness of a peer abuse claim. You cannot dismiss harassment and hazing as “kids will be kids,” and you certainly have to supervise them.

The school has broad authority during the school day, but liability still depends on evidence. Our lawyers look at prior incidents, whether there was supervision, the physical location of the assault, reports by students and parents, disciplinary history, and the speed and adequacy of the response.

Records That Can Prove a School Abuse Case

Institutions rarely announce what they knew. The evidence you find after a lot of digging is usually one email, one personnel record, and one forgotten complaint at a time.

Our lawyers seek a ton of documents — personnel and credentialing files, prior complaints, Title IX records, mandated-reporter communications, school-device data, emails, text messages, team apps, athletic schedules, transportation logs, hotel assignments, classroom access records, security video, board materials, resignation agreements, reference communications, and records sent to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. We talk to former students, parents, teachers, coaches, aides, and administrators who are able to fill in some of the gaps in the timeline (and supporting evidence for the claim). This is where the strongest evidence is.

Los Angeles public schools generate records in several places. A principal may keep campus notes while human resources maintains a formal personnel file. The Title IX office has its own database. School police, outside law enforcement, and child-protective services hold separate reports. Finding one clean file that contains the whole story would be unusual to say the least.

Los Angeles Courts and Case Procedure

A lawsuit against LAUSD, Pasadena Unified, Mountain View School District, El Monte Union, or another Los Angeles County public school entity will almost always be filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, which is generally a fair venue for victims of sexual abuse. As you likely know, the Los Angeles court system is massive and spans a wide geographic area.

Public school claims require careful pleading because a district’s liability is statutory. The complaint should identify the negligent acts of administrators and employees rather than relying on the abuser’s employment alone. A private school complaint will include direct corporate negligence, agency, negligent hiring and retention, premises issues, and punitive-damages allegations when supported by the evidence (which is not available in public school cases).

The first thing we do when we are ready to file a lawsuit is to try to get the case settled.  Before you file a lawsuit is one of the best times to see whether a settlement is possible.  Only when that fails do you file a lawsuit. Most institutional cases begin with written discovery and subpoenas. Plaintiffs then take depositions of principals, supervisors, Title IX personnel, human-resources employees, coaches, and witnesses to earlier complaints. A district may produce a personnel file that appears thin. That makes depositions and third-party records more important, because consequential conversations may have occurred by telephone, on personal devices, or in meetings that generated no formal report.

Los Angeles County has also entered enormous settlements involving alleged abuse in juvenile facilities and foster care settings. Those are county cases, generally involving the Department of Probation or child welfare system. They are not a great comparison for school district settlements.

Another question victims have is whether they can be anonymous when filing a lawsuit. California law protects the survivor’s identity in many court filings through initials or John or Jane Doe.  Confidentiality orders can limit public disclosure of medical, therapy, and school records. There is no question that litigation, if your case gets that far, is an invasion of privacy to some extent, but it does not require a survivor to surrender every measure of privacy.

Deadline for a Los Angeles School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

California gives survivors substantial time to bring many childhood sexual-assault claims. Claims involving abuse on or after January 1, 2024 generally have no civil filing deadline. Earlier abuse is governed by different rules, and some institutional claims filed after age 40 require a certificate of merit.

The date of the abuse, the survivor’s age, the defendants, earlier proceedings, and discovery facts can change the analysis. Our California sexual abuse lawsuit page explains the statewide deadline rules in greater detail. A lawyer should still investigate promptly because school records and electronic communications can disappear while a claim remains legally timely.

Los Angeles Schools and Districts in Recent Sexual Abuse Cases

Suffice to say, there have been a lot of problems in Los Angeles public and private schools. Are things getting better? They are. But no matter how many new systems get added to spot grooming and sexual abuse, the systems do not help if no one is following them.

LAUSD Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Los Angeles Unified is the second-largest public school district in the country. Its size creates layers upon layers that you do not see in a private school. So when our lawyers are investigating a case like this, we know there are multiple layers of information flow.

These next sections are all with an eye towards better understanding settlement values in the context of the facts so you have a better idea of the range in which these cases settle and what jury verdicts look like. We also give you a look at some of the more recent lawsuits that have been filed.

Miramonte Elementary School and Mark Berndt

The Miramonte Elementary School cases involving former teacher Mark Berndt are the most infamous sexual abuse lawsuits against the LAUSD. Berndt taught at the South Los Angeles campus for, inexplicably, decades. He was arrested in 2012 and later entered no-contest pleas to criminal charges involving numerous students.

LAUSD settled a lot of cases years ago. Then a new wave of students came forward, and in April 2026 the district agreed to pay $30.5 million to 19 additional former students (about $1.6 million per person). All told, the Berndt debacle cost the LAUSD over $200 million.

Telfair Elementary, De La Torre Elementary, and South East High School

Miramonte is the largest LAUSD example, but sadly it is far from the only one. LAUSD settled a lawsuit involving former Telfair Elementary School teacher Paul Chapel and former De La Torre Elementary School teacher Robert Pimentel. Chapel and Pimentel were convicted in separate criminal cases. The settlement was $8.4 million for four former Telfair students and $10 million for five former De La Torre students as part of a larger group of district settlements. So pretty close to a per person average of $2 million in both cases.

LAUSD also agreed to pay $6.5 million to a South East High School student who alleged that a science teacher sexually abused her. This case was made worse by the fact that she reported what happened, but it was ignored. You know the failure was awful when two administrators were convicted of criminal failure-to-report charges. So you can see why the victim received so much here. The student did what adults tell children to do. She reported the abuse to people with authority to do something about it, and they sat on their hands.

San Gabriel Valley School Sexual Abuse Cases

Mountain View School District and Miramonte Elementary School

Last year, a Los Angeles County jury awarded six former students sexually abused by longtime teacher Joseph Baldenebro at Miramonte Elementary School (confusingly, a different school named Miramonte) in South El Monte $48 million ($8 million per person). The students were tragically young — between 8 and 10 years old when the abuse occurred. Baldenebro was convicted.

The lawyers for the Mountain View School District did not even bother to argue the school was not negligent. They just argued about the extent to which its conduct caused the students’ harm. That is a tough argument to make, and the verdict reflected that.

Pasadena Unified School District and Focus Point Academy

A Los Angeles County jury ordered a $26 million payout to a Pasadena Unified School District student who was sexually assaulted by three classmates at Focus Point Academy. The facts are gruesome. She was 11 years old and enrolled in a special-education program for children with emotional disabilities. The evidence showed that a teacher’s aide assigned to supervise her left her alone with the students who assaulted her.

The defense? Deny everything, including the fact that the assault even occurred. It did not work. The jury awarded $12.5 million for past pain and suffering and $13.5 million for future pain and suffering.

We always say peer-on-peer cases are more difficult to bring against the school than teacher/coach claims. But this case underscores that schools have a duty to protect children from being sexually abused by other students.

Other Los Angeles County Schools and Programs

Torrance Unified School District and Torrance High School

Torrance Unified paid 25 current and former students who were abused by wrestling coach Thomas Snider $31 million to settle their claims.  A criminal conviction really helps these cases, and Snider was convicted and got a prison sentence exceeding 69 years. Most of the plaintiffs were at Torrance High School, but one claim went back to when this predator was at Madrona Middle School.

The abuse was carried out under the guise of checking wrestlers for ringworm and other skin conditions. This case had good notice, too. The district had received an abuse report years earlier and still allowed Snider secluded access to students. The settlement included a reported $27 million insurance contribution and $4 million from the district.

The average settlement in these cases was a little over a million. We keep pointing out the averages not to tell you the settlement value of your claim but just give you more context about how these cases are valued.

Long Beach Unified School District and Cabrillo High School

In July 2025, Los Angeles County prosecutors charged former Cabrillo High School baseball coach Gabriel Vigil with multiple sex offenses involving a student. The alleged conduct occurred while he worked as a coach and at other locations.

Viewpoint School in Calabasas

Los Angeles County prosecutors charged former Viewpoint School teacher Travis Takeshi Shojinaga in February 2026 with possession of child sexual abuse material and misdemeanor child-molestation counts. Prosecutors allege that he secretly took intimate photographs of at least four female students. He pleaded not guilty, and every charge remains an allegation unless proved.

The District Attorney’s charging announcement identifies case number 26VWCF00455 and says that Shojinaga taught at Viewpoint for ten years. Any civil claim would require a separate investigation of the school’s conduct, including whether administrators had earlier notice and how they responded once a student reported the alleged photography.

Are these cases valued the same as a serious sexual assault claim if there was no touching involved?  Generally no.  But you see good settlements in some non-contact cases.

Los Angeles School Sexual Abuse Settlements and Verdicts

The results below provide examples of how Los Angeles juries and public entities have valued documented school-abuse claims. Read them with the facts beside the number.

The nature and duration of the abuse makes a big difference. So do the survivor’s age (younger leads to higher values), the relationship with the abuser, and the quality of the liability evidence. A documented complaint made before the plaintiff was abused can change the value of a case because it shows the school had a specific opportunity to intervene and did not.

Public school cases also have practical constraints. Punitive damages are unavailable against a public entity. Insurance, self-insured retention, public funds, and the number of related claimants can affect collectability and settlement structure. A private school may present a different mix of insurance, corporate assets, religious entities, and potential punitive exposure.

Our lawyers do not calculate a Los Angeles school sexual abuse settlement by averaging headline verdicts. We start with the survivor’s history and damages, then work outward through the school records. That gives us a much better idea of what the particular case is actually worth.

Los Angeles School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit FAQs

Can I sue LAUSD for abuse by a teacher or coach?

Yes, when negligence by administrators, supervisors, or other district employees contributed to the abuse. Negligence claims usually involve negligent supervision and failing to fire a teacher who should have been fired for predatory behavior. But, generally, there has to be negligence on the part of the school to have a viable liability claim.

Can a Los Angeles school be liable for abuse by another student?

Yes, although we always say these claims are more difficult than teacher/student claims.  But, in many cases, the facts support a claim that the school had information that there could be a problem.  There is also a lot of inadequate supervision of students that leads to peer sexual abuse.

Can I bring a claim against a Los Angeles private or religious school?

Yes. There are some advantages when suing private schools in sexual abuse cases because you have the possibility of punitive damages, and there is also insurance to pay any settlement or verdict. This lessens the blow for the school, making it easier for the victim to get fair compensation.

What if I cannot remember the teacher’s full name?

We can still usually figure it out pretty easily.  The campus, approximate school years, subject, team, or physical description is usually enough. Yearbooks, archived staff directories, credential records, classmates, and district records also help identify the culprit.

Can I file if the abuse happened years ago?

Possibly. California has expanded the time available for many California school sexual assault claims, and abuse occurring on or after January 1, 2024 generally has no civil filing deadline. Earlier claims require an individual analysis under the statute that applies to the date of abuse and the survivor’s circumstances. We talk more about this above.

Talk to Our Los Angeles School Sexual Abuse Lawyers

You may remember the campus and the person who hurt you without knowing who inside the school received an earlier complaint. That is enough. Our lawyers will conduct the first investigation confidentially, identify the district or private entity, locate former students and employees, and send preservation demands before electronic records disappear.

If you have a claim, we want to talk to you. Call us today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online. The consultation is confidential, and there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you.