The Pomona Unified School District is being sued by a former track and field team member who alleges that in the late 1990s she was sexually abused by one coach and also witnessed a teammate being molested by another coach who had previously played in the National Football League.
The woman’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit names as defendants the PUSD and former coaches Brian Crichlow and Kitrick Taylor. Taylor, now 56, was a wide receiver in the NFL from 1988-93 and is probably best known for catching Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre’s first winning touchdown pass in the league, a 35-yard strike with 13 seconds remaining to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-23, on Sept. 20, 1992.
Taylor also played for the San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.
A PUSD representative could not be immediately reached on the suit filed Wednesday, seeking unspecified damages.
The plaintiff, who now lives in Riverside County, was 16 and 17 years old during the 1996-97 school year and attended Pomona High School, the suit states. She alleges that during that time she was “regularly sexually abused, touched and was pressured to engage in sexual intercourse” with Crichlow while she was a member of the girls’ track and field team.
The plaintiff further alleges she was “groomed and manipulated over the school year” by both Crichlow and Taylor, saying they bought her and fellow students alcohol and allowed them to drive the coaches’ cars.
The suit alleges that during a trip to Las Vegas for a track meet, the plaintiff was sexually abused in one bed by Crichlow and witnessed one of her teammates being molested by Taylor in an adjacent bed.
On another occasion, Crichlow sexually abused the plaintiff at Taylor’s home, the suit alleges.
The PUSD, teachers, the administration, and assistants “had numerous warnings and information that caused each of them to know, or reasonably suspect, the plaintiff was a victim of child abuse/molestation/harassment,” the suit states.
The district also “turned a blind eye” to the alleged misconduct of Taylor to protect the prestige received by the school and PUSD from having a former NFL player working for the PUSD, the suit states.
Had the PUSD adequately investigated Crichlow and Taylor’s backgrounds, they would have “discovered conduct that would have deemed them unfit to work with minors,” the suit further contends.