Santa Ana High School Coach Arrested for Sexual Abuse of Minors

While there is clearly one individual that committed these crimes, incidents of school sexual abuse almost always involve negligence by the people in charge. Specifically, we are talking about administrators at the school that students may have gone to in order to complain about inappropriate conduct from Coach Raya.

Even if there were no accusations from students or their parents, there were likely signs of suspicious conduct between the coach and his students. The school has a legal duty to investigate when there is suspicion of abuse or any other situation that can cause harm to a student. In addition, they must notify the police or the county’s child protective services agency, as they are mandatory reporters under California law.

This is why you find that school districts are sued in just about every case of sexual abuse by an educator, counselor, janitor, bus driver, or another employee at the school. To explore the option of suing the Santa Ana Unified School District, please take a moment to contact our office.

There’s no denying that these lawsuit have high case values, and many of the settlements recovered by our attorneys exceed $1,000,000. The actual value can be in the 6-figure range, starting at around $400,000, so there’s no way to say for sure what the average claimant will end up with.

If there are incidents of sexual contact (groping, oral sex, intercourse, etc.) between the victim and abuser, settlements are likely to be in the range of $1,500,000 to $5,000,000. Lawsuits based on grooming and sexual harassment (sexual exploitation) will probably settle for less than $1,000,000. However, this is not set in stone, as there are other factors that can increase the value of a Godinez High School sexual abuse claim. If you would like to discuss the amount you can potentially receive as a school sexual abuse victim, please contact our law firm.

Sexual abuse lawsuits are extremely complex legal actions to begin with, but these lawsuit have the added complication of suing a public school district. That’s why 1 to 2 years is a reasonable amount of time to reach a settlement for sexual abuse by a coach or teacher at Godinez High School. Some of the school sexual abuse claim we have handled were resolved in 6 months or less, but we would have to say that this is unusual. For the vast majority of lawsuits involving negligence by school administrators, it’s very rare to negotiate a settlement award in less than 12 months.

Some of the victims we speak with express concerns about their case ending up in court. This is a possibility, and the need for a trial will extend your case timeline by another year or two. Please note, however, that over 95% of these claims are settled successfully without court intervention, so it’s highly unlikely that your case will need to be tried in court.

In the incidents uncovered by the Santa Ana PD, it seems that Raya waited for his victims to turn18 before he made sexual advances toward them. Nevertheless, he communicated with them while they were minors, which is a form of grooming, i.e., forming an emotional bond with a victim in order to gain their trust and use them for sexual purposes. This is a form of sexual abuse, and sadly, many victims end up feeling confused and angry with themselves after they are used by a sexual predator.

If you already reached the age of consent – 18 years old – when the sexual abuse started, you have 10 years to file a lawsuit under California law. On the other hand, lawsuits for child sexual assault and exploitation have a deadline of 22 years. However, this window of time does not begin until the victim reaches 18 years of age. So, in actuality, the deadline to sue a school district for student sexual abuse is the victim’s 40^th birthday.

For those who are older than 40, filing a lawsuit may be a possibility under California’s 5-year discovery rule. Under this legal exception, a survivor of child sexual abuse may not understand the harm they suffered from the events that occurred while they were under the age of consent. Most victims also have little to no knowledge of their rights, which is why they don’t go to the police or anyone else for help. As a result, it can take many years for them to discover the impact of sexual abuse on their mental and physical health. This is the point of “discovery” for a sex abuse victim, and no matter how old they are at this point, they are allowed 5 years to file a lawsuit through the civil court system.

For more information on how long you have to sue the Santa Ana Unified School District, please schedule a free case review with one of our attorneys.

There is no right or wrong way to work through the trauma of sexual abuse and move forward with your life in a positive direction. However, making a decision requires knowledge of your rights and legal options, which is why you should talk to a school sex abuse attorney right away.

Our law firm is dedicated to providing victims with justice, while ensuring that their finances do not suffer as a result of having to pay for legal services. With that in mind, we accept all cases on contingency and offer you a Zero Fee Guarantee to ensure that you pay $0 out of pocket if you decide to go ahead with a lawsuit. To put it simply, we only get paid by wining your case and receiving a portion of your settlement. So, if we don’t win your case, you pay us absolutely nothing.

We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so call us anytime to schedule a free consultation if you or your child was sexually abused by Coach Aaron Raya at Godinez High School.

Other Pages on Our Website Related to This Topic
Rosemead High School Sexual Abuse Lawyers
Time to Sue for Sexual Abuse at Rosemead High School
The Average Value of a Rosemead High School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit