A lawsuit was filed against Los Angeles Unified Monday on behalf of three girls who say they were molested by a former New Designs Charter School teacher/counselor.
The girls were all identified as Jane Does in the negligence suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. They are seeking unspecified damages.
Two of the plaintiffs are now 16 years old and the other is 17. Each girl is represented in the lawsuit by one of their parents acting as their legal guardian in order to bring the complaint.
An LAUSD spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, the abuses were committed by Juan Ramon Cardoza, 57, of Downey, who was sentenced in February to a two-year prison term after pleading no contest to committing lewd acts on a child.
Cardoza admitted in court in 2013 to abusing four female students at New Designs School between January 2010 and March 2013, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The abuses involved a girl who was then 13 years old and three more who were age 14, according to the D.A.’s office.
The LAUSD failed to provide the girls with a safe learning environment, according to the suit, which also alleges the district did not tell parents or law enforcement that school officials knew Cardoza might have been sexually harassing students.
— City News Service