As a general rule, criminal charges for sexual assault can only filed against the person that committed the act. However, the rules are different when you are seeking justice from the civil courts. Lawsuits are based on negligence or misconduct, and just about every case of sexual abuse by a teacher involves some degree of negligence by the school district.

In 2014, Alvar Gonzalez was actually placed on administrative leave after a victim went to the police. Gonzalez was accused of kissing the student, but he insisted that nothing happened when he was asked about the incident by school administrators. However, the district was forced to put the teacher on administrative leave when the victim bravely went to the authorities. Keep in mind this incident happened one year after Gonzalez had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old at the school.

What exactly was going on at this school, to where this predatory teacher was allowed to take advantage of one student after another? Were school officials aware of other students who were groomed and assaulted by Gonzalez? Did they at least have reason to suspect that something inappropriate was going on, considering that he was engaging in sexual acts with these students on school property? How many more victims are out there, who are living with the trauma of sexual assault due to the negligence by supervisory staff members at the Santa Ana High School?

These and other questions are used to establish liability by a school system when a sexual abuse victim speaks out. For more information on your right to sue for sexual abuse while you were a student at Santa Ana High School, contact us today.

If you have done some research on this topic already, you may have noticed that most of the settlements for a sexual abuse lawsuit are somewhere in the 7 figure range. In actuality, payments can start at around $450,000, but this is still a significant amount, especially when the victim has little to no physical injury. However, these lawsuits are often based on mental health issues that are caused by sexual abuse during childhood. Such conditions can cause serious disruptions that compromise a victim’s quality of life on a permanent basis. That’s why awards of $1,500,000 to $5,000,000 are not unusual when it comes to lawsuits for sexual assault by a teacher.

A Santa Ana High School sex abuse lawyer is available if you are interested in how much you can ask for in a lawsuit against the school district.

Settling a sexual abuse lawsuit can take over 12 months if the defendant is a public entity, like a school district. Many of the cases we handle take between 1 and 2 years, and even longer is we are required to try the case in court. Less than 5% of school sexual abuse lawsuits are tried in court, so it’s more than likely that we will reach a settlement with the Santa Ana Unified School District by exchanging settlement offers, and perhaps working with a third party mediator. Overall, achieving justice as a victim of sexual assault can be a long and difficult road, but please know that we are with you every step of the way.

Your deadline to sue a school district for sexual abuse by one of its teachers is 22 years following your 18^th birthday. That means you have until the age of 40 to file a claim for monetary damages if you were groomed into a sexual relationship by former Santa Ana High School teacher, Alvar Gonzalez.

There is, however, a 5-year discovery rule that applies to lawsuits for child sexual abuse victims. Many of these individuals have suffered for decades with commitment phobias, sexual dysfunctions, anger management, drug and alcohol use, and other disorders due to the repression of sexual abuse. Sadly, the tendency to stay quiet about sexual assault and exploitation is very common among children. However, those who ask another adult may be ignored or blamed for the incident, as if they somehow seduced the adult into a sexual relationship.

These and other circumstances make it impossible for the victim to seek help and work through the pain and trauma of what they went through. That’s why injuries in the form of mental health issues are so prevalent among those who are sexually abused as children. Even if it takes you beyond the age of 40 to realize these injuries, you have 5 years to file a lawsuit according to the laws in California.