Students at boarding schools in California are in a unique position where they are entirely under the care of school employees. It is easy for an employee to take advantage of a student, sometimes committing heinous acts of sexual abuse.
Alleged sexual abuse at California private boarding school
A 44-year-old woman who attended the Thacher School in Ojai in 1996 has filed a lawsuit against the school alleging negligence, sexual assault and harassment. In her lawsuit she claims she was sexually abused by a soccer coach employed by the school.
According to the woman, the employee sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions at the school when she was age 17.
The woman stated the school was aware the employee had a previous inappropriate sexual relationship with a different student when it hired him almost 10 years earlier in 1987.
The woman is one of dozens of former pupils at the school who have alleged incidents of sexual abuse at the hands of administrators, teachers and coaches. They claim the school permitted a culture of sexual abuse of students by employees to go on for many years.
The school responded by saying the accused workers are no longer employed by the school and that they have made changes to foster an environment that protects students.
The woman’s lawsuit is the second filed against the school based on such incidents.
Suing for sexual abuse in California
The sexual abuse of minors can cause severe physical and psychological trauma that lasts well into adulthood. Sexual abuse includes any form of unwanted sexual activity committed through acts of force, threats or that otherwise took advantage of the victim.
Adults who were sexually abused as children have the right to file a lawsuit against their alleged abusers. There is no statute of limitations for adults who want to file a sexual abuse lawsuit, even if the abuse occurred when they were a child.
Victims of sexual abuse deserve justice and they deserve to make sure their abuser is held accountable for the terrible wrongdoing they committed. The sooner a lawsuit is filed, the sooner the victim can be compensated for the harm they suffered and hopefully find some sense of closure.