Escondido Union School District Sexual Abuse Lawyer

Sexual assault and harassment occur on a frequent basis in school settings, where kids interact on a daily basis with teachers, coaches, administrators, janitors, lunch aides, and other adults.

No matter the circumstance, it’s essential to understand that California law prohibits any sort of sexual interactions between minors and adults. A minor is defined as an individual under 18 years old, and prior to this age, you cannot make informed choices about sex as far as the laws are concerned. That’s why not saying no or fighting back is never a defense for sexual misconduct by an Escondido Union School District teacher or any other staff member. Examples of child sexual abuse at a school include, but are not limited to:

• Kissing, fondling, and other inappropriate forms of contact
• Sexual grooming – forming a close relationship with a child for the purpose of sexual engagement
• Sexually charged communications, in person or virtually (texts, chat apps, etc)
• Showing pornography to a minor sending them to sites with adult content
• Asking for / exchanging sexually explicit photos
• Masturbating or exposing one’s genital sin front of a student
• Vaginal intercourse, sodomy, and oral sex
• Bribing a student into performing a sex act (promising good grades or privileges)

Due to the city of Escondido’s large student population, there is a separate school district for grades 9 through 12. While these students are older, most of them are still minors as defined by California law. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop predatory employees from taking advantage of a high school student and leaving them with the scars of sexual abuse. If you are one of these individuals, you may have grounds to sue the Escondido Union High School District.

To explore your rights and legal options, contact our office if you were sexually abused while attending one of these schools:

• Escondido High School
• Valley High School
• Orange Glen High School
• Del Lago Academy
• San Pasqual High School
• CTE

Yes, you can file a child sexual abuse lawsuit against the Escondido Union School District if the school system failed to act appropriately upon learning that you were being sexually abused. The school district can also be sued for not recognizing the signs of sexual assault, harassment, and other forms of abuse that they should have been aware of. Finally, you can sue the Escondido Union School District for their failure to take preventative measures that could have prevented you from being abused.

School administrators have a duty of care to provide a safe and nurturing environment that’s free of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. If there is such an incident, they must notify the police immediately, along with the child’s parents / guardians. They should also remove the accused employee from the campus, at least on a temporary basis while the allegations are investigated by the authorities. Furthermore, there should be protective measures for the student, including constant supervision and support services to help with the trauma of being sexually abused.

If members of the school district neglected their duty to protect you, they are responsible for the harm you’ve suffered from one or more incidents of sexual abuse. That’s the basis of a lawsuit against the Escondido Union School District, which you can learn more about during a free, private consultation.

Cases involving sexual assault of a student by a teacher, sports coach, or any other adult working at the school may be settled for $2,000,000 to $5,000,000. If you are a victim of sexual harassment by a school staff member, the projected settlement may be around $500,000 to $1,000,000.

You can generally expect case values to be in the 6-7 figure range for child sexual abuse lawsuits. But the actual amount of compensation depends on specific elements, like the sexual acts that were involved, the injuries you sustained, and negligence by the school district. Based on these and many other issues, there are lawsuits that result in payments of $10,000,000 or more.

At the end of the day, we can only offer estimates when it comes to how much a school sexual abuse lawsuit is worth. If you are interested in finding out how much you can receive by suing the Escondido Union School District, please schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys.

It can take anywhere from several months to over years to settle a sexual abuse lawsuit involving a school district. Realistically, the average timeline is about 1 to 2 years, based on how long it takes us to negotiate a settlement for most of these lawsuits. As a general rule, lawsuits against public entities (school districts, government agencies, etc.) take at least 6 to 12 months. This is due to special rules and additional requirements that are imposed by the courts when it comes to suing a public school system.

If you are worried about the prospect of a trial, we can tell you from experience that these are rare events. We are able to reach a settlement in over 95% of all cases at our law firm, so there is a very small chance that we will need to ask for a trial date. If it becomes necessary to try your case in court, securing your payment through a jury verdict can take several years.

According to the laws in California, you have until the age of 40, or 22 years after you turn 18 to file a lawsuit for sexual abuse by an Escondido Union School District employee. What are your rights, though, if you are currently older than 40? Are you permanently barred from suing the school district for monetary compensation?

If you are past the age of 40, you may still be eligible for a lawsuit if you discover an emotional or physical injury from being sexually abused as a child. The delayed discovery of injuries, particularly mental health disorders, is extremely common among adults who were abused as a child. The majority of adult survivors we represent did not fully understand the effect of these incidents on their lives until they sought help from a therapist. That’s why the discovery of a sexual abuse-related injury can happen long after the actual event.

Fortunately, there are laws in place that allow these victims 5 years from the date of realization if they wish to sue the school system for negligence and/or misconduct. Perhaps you are one of the many victims that experienced a late discovery of injuries from childhood sexual assault. To discuss how you can proceed with a lawsuit against the Escondido Union School District, please give us a call.

Being abused by someone you trust and respect is an incredibly traumatizing experience, particularly when you are a child. The damage from sexual abuse can’t be undone with money, but a civil lawsuit may be the only form of justice that’s available to a victim. In addition, a lawsuit against the school district will provide you with funds to cover your medical costs and other expenses you incurred through no fault of your own.

The clients we represent never pay for the cost of legal fees, which are covered by the school district. Since we only get paid by winning your case, there is no cost to you whatsoever if you don’t receive compensation from a school sexual abuse lawsuit. This is the Zero Fee Guarantee we offer to all victims of sexual abuse, which you can learn about by contacting our law firm.

The legal process begins with a free consultation, so contact us today and speak with a school sexual assault lawsuit lawyer.