Was your child sexually abused by a PE teacher, coach, teaching assistant, school administrator, or another employee of the Gonzales Unified School District? Were you subjected to sexual harassment or assault while you were a student at the following GUSD schools?
- La Gloria Elementary School
- Fairview Middle School
- Gonzales High School
- Gonzales Adult School
Sadly, sexual abuse within the school system is a common issue, and many children are permanently scarred by these events. As a result, they develop a multitude of health issues, particularly mental health disorders like suicidal thoughts, drug abuse, sleep disorders, and commitment phobias. The truth is, many of these incidents could have been prevented by school officials. But negligence and blatant misconduct create an environment where predatory adults flourish at the expense of innocent students.
Based on the details of your case, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit for school sexual abuse. Though you can sue your abuser, most of these lawsuits are filed against the school district, as they are in charge of handling any abuse complaints against their employees. We often find that administrators knew about these problems, but chose to look the other way or concealed evidence of sexual assault, which is against the law.
If you’d like to explore your rights and legal options with a school sexual abuse attorney, call us today and schedule a free consultation.
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Acts of Sexual Abuse against Students in Public Schools
Sexual abuse of a minor includes many forms of sexual contact or conduct between adults and children. By children, we are talking about individuals under 18 years old, which is the legal age of consent in California. Basically, anyone below this age cannot consent to sexual activity, so even if they don’t say no, any sexual engagement between adults and minors is sexual abuse under California law.
Examples of sexual abuse by Gonzales Unified School District include, but are not limited to:
- Conversations of a sexual nature, either online or in person
- Exchanging porn clips, nude pics, and other sexually explicit material
- Grooming a child for the purpose of manipulating them into a sexual relationship
- Inappropriate touching (kissing, groping, fondling, etc.)
- Sexual intercourse / oral sex
- Blackmail and coercion (threatening to fail a student, report them to the principal, release their nude pics, etc. if they refuse to engage in sexual activity)
There are many things that district officials can do to prevent the sexual abuse of students at their schools. If a staff member is accused of such conduct, they must contact the authorities and the child’s guardians immediately. In addition, they must fully comply with any investigation by law enforcement, including turning over evidence, like previous complaints from students and staff members. During this time, the accused individual should be placed on leave in order to protect the student, which is a school district’s most important duty.
If you believe that the Gonzales Unified School District was negligent in their duty of care to you or your child, contact our law firm immediately. We will answer any questions you have during a free consultation and help you develop a plan of action if you are entitled to compensation from a school sexual abuse lawsuit.
Can I Sue Gonzales Unified School District for Sexual Abuse?
Yes, you can file a lawsuit for sexual abuse against Gonzales Unified School District if they failed to take the required actions upon learning about or having suspicions about sexual misconduct by one of their employees. Alternatively, school districts can be sued for inadequate hiring practices, lack of training and other safety measures to prevent sexual abuse within their premises.
California also has a mandatory reporting law for child abuse, which requires school employees to report all allegations or suspicions of student sexual abuse to the authorities. Failure to follow these guidelines can result in a penalty of up to 6 months in jail and $1,000 in fines. The mandatory reporter law applies to individuals that regularly work with children, such as:
- Teachers or TAs (teaching assistants)
- School administrators, like principles and vice-principles
- Secretaries and other office workers
- School security guards
- Social workers
- Guidance counselors
- PE teachers / coaches
- Janitors
- Bus drivers
- Staff members of recreational or after school programs
- Day care center operators and employees
Aside from criminal sanctions, those who do not report allegations of child sexual abuse can be sued for monetary damages. To learn more about your right to sue Gonzales Unified School District, talk to a school sexual abuse lawsuit lawyer at our office.
Statute of Limitations for a School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
If you are suing for sexual abuse that occurred while you were a minor (under 18 years old), you have until your 40th birthday to file a lawsuit. In other words, you have 22 years following the age of adulthood to sue for monetary damages.
If you are older than 40, you may still have the opportunity to file a lawsuit under the 5-year discovery rule. If there is a delayed discovery of emotional or physical injuries that resulted from molestation, child rape, and other acts of student sexual abuse, you have 5 years from the date of discovery to sue Gonzales Unified School District.
But what if you were 18 or older when you were sexually abused by a teacher or another school employee? In that case, you have 10 years from the date of abuse (or most recent incident of abuse) to file a compensation claim.
The statute of limitations for a school sexual abuse lawsuit is a complicated subject, so don’t worry if you are confused by any of this information. Just contact a sexual assault attorney at our office, who can verify the amount of time you have to sue Gonzales Unified School District.
How Much can I Receive from a Lawsuit against Gonzales Unified School District?
On average, lawsuits for the sexual abuse of a student settle for around $500,000 to $2,000,000 for sexual harassment, and $3,000,000 to $10,000,000 for sexual assault. The actual amount depends on many issues that have to do with your injuries and how they have affected your life. Negligence by the school district is another critical element in the settlement value of a Gonzales Unified School District lawsuit. Based on the district’s actions or failure to act, a school sexual assault case may be worth around $5,000,000 to $12,000,000.
Please be aware that these are estimates based on cases that were successfully resolved by our attorneys. But you will need to contact our law firm if you’re interested in finding how much you can end up with from a school employee sexual assault lawsuit.
How Long Does it Take to Settle a School Sexual Abuse Case?
Child sexual abuse lawsuits can take 6 to 24 months to settle, but we would say that the average case takes around 1 to 2 years. These are timelines based on how long it takes to negotiate a settlement with the school district. In the event we are unable to reach a settlement, taking your case to trial may be the only option. If your case is tried in court, the total amount of time to settle a Gonzales Unified School District sex abuse lawsuit may be 3 or more years. But there’s a very small chance that we will need to ask for a trial date, since more than 95% of these lawsuits are settled between the plaintiff and the school district.
Contact Normandie Law Firm
The harm caused by sexual abuse is devastating, no matter how old you are. However, the abuse is particularly damaging when the perpetrator is a teacher, coach, or someone else that you feel close to. Unfortunately, the effects of sexual abuse last a lifetime, but taking legal action can help you take back control from the school system that failed to protect you.
If suing GUSD is right for you, you won’t have to pay a single penny in legal fees. With our Zero Fee Guarantee, the only way we get paid is by recovering your settlement award, which includes the cost of representing you. To put it another way, we don’t get paid unless you get paid.
If you are in need of legal advice from an experienced sexual abuse law firm, contact us today and schedule a free case evaluation. If you have a pending lawsuit against Gonzales Unified School District, don’t hesitate to call us for a free second opinion.
