Teacher Sending Sexual Text Messages to Minor Student – School Child Sexual Abuse Lawyer
Unfortunately, sexual abuse is a major problem in our schools, specifically K-12 schools. Today, it is very common for students of all ages to have their own cell phones. Although cell phones can, without a doubt, be very useful for students to communicate with their loved ones, communication with people with bad intentions is also likely. Of course, parents might warn their children not to talk to strangers, but they might not warn them of talking to their teachers or other school staff members. On the contrary, children tend to trust these adults that they come across at school.
More and more teachers and school staff abuse their positions and proximity to innocent students to commit crimes. The news is riddled with different incidents of child sexual abuse at different schools. Regrettably, inappropriate text messages are often disregarded as forms of sexual abuse. Inappropriate text messages, although different than physical harm (like inappropriate toughing, molestation, rape, etc.) can still result in significant harm to the victim.
If a teacher or other staff member at your child’s school sent inappropriate text messages to your child, you must seek legal assistance as soon as possible – you could have grounds to file a lawsuit. For more information about the legal options available to you and your child, do not hesitate to contact the experts here at our law firm as soon as possible.
Here at the Downtown L.A. Law Group, our personal injury lawyers have decades of experience handling all sorts of injury claims, including school sexual abuse claims. Our lawyers are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with the guidance that you need to sue the school and/or the district for the harm that your child suffered. If you are ready to discuss your legal options with our experts, contact us immediately.
More About Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse consists of essentially all sexual activity with a minor (because a minor cannot legally consent under any situation). The following are included under child sexual abuse:
- Exposing one’s genitals to a minor
- Masturbating in front of a minor
- Forcing a minor to masturbate
- Attempted rape and rape
- Inappropriate touching (fondling, massaging, etc.)
- Forcing the minor to perform any sexual acts
- Sexually explicit conversations (including in text messages or in-person)
- Any and all sexual contact with a minor
Unfortunately, many people do not take sexually inappropriate text messages seriously. Regardless, these text messages can have lasting consequences.
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Examples of the Effects of School Child Sexual Abuse
There is no doubt that child sexual abuse that becomes physical can lead to significant harm, including physical harm, mental harm, and emotional harm. However, child sexual abuse via inappropriate text messages can also lead to significant harm. Some examples of harm resulting from inappropriate text messages include the following:
- Fear
- Depression
- Anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
In addition, children who are sexually abused tend to have a higher risk of self-harm.
Can You File a Lawsuit?
You might have many questions after finding out that your child was a victim of sexual assault at school. These questions may include the following:
- Can I sue the school if a schoolteacher was sending my child sexually explicit text messages?
- Can the school be liable? Can the school be responsible?
- Is the school district liable?
Yes – you could have grounds to file a lawsuit. Whether a public school teacher, janitor, pe teacher, coach, music teacher, school security guard, or any person working for a school district sent inappropriate messages to your child, you could sue.
You could sue the school and school district based on the failure to keep your child safe. Schools have a duty to keep their students safe from all potential dangers, including dangers represented by school staff. Districts are in charge of hiring; they must subject all prospective employees to the appropriate background checks. In addition, employees must be properly trained and supervised. Staff must be trained regarding how to handle situations where abuse is suspected (i.e., what to do, how to report the suspicion, etc.). Also, the district has the duty to identify and address the abuse promptly. The district’s failure to identity and address the abuse – and even attempting to cover up the abuse – can make the district and the school liable.
In summary, you can certainly file a lawsuit for a teacher sending sexual inappropriate text messages to a minor student. For more information about the legal options available to you, it is important that you seek legal assistance as soon as possible.
Recommended Steps
You might have many questions regarding what to do if your child received inappropriate text messages from a teacher or other staff member. Consider some of the following suggestions:
- Report the sexual abuse
- File a written report with the school and school district
- File a written report with the local authorities
- Screenshot all text messages (if text messages have been deleted, contact your carrier for help retrieving them on their end)
- Seek professional help for your child (your child will likely need to see a professional to start dealing with the mental and emotional harm caused from the incident)
- Speak to witnesses
- Gather all relevant records (including cost of therapy, etc.)
- Seek legal assistance with an experienced school child abuse lawyer as soon as possible
Class Action Lawsuits
Unfortunately, in cases of child sexual abuse in schools, there are often multiple victims of the same suspect. In these cases, where the victims are often also harmed in similar ways, class action lawsuits are possible. If you are unsure of whether you should file an independent claim or participate in a class action lawsuit, simply seek legal assistance as soon as possible. Our lawyers can help you take the appropriate legal action.
I need a Lawyer!
If your child was the victim of child sexual abuse at his or her school, you are definitely in need of legal help. If you need legal help, you can trust the experts at our law firm to provide you with the guidance that you need to begin or continue your claim. Here at the Downtown L.A. Law Group, our lawyers are ready to provide you with the guidance that you need to sue for the harm that your innocent child suffered at the hands of a teacher or other staff at school.
We are proud to offer free legal services, which include free consultations and free second opinions. During these free legal services, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions and address all your concerns. Regardless of whether you are starting your claim or redirecting your claim, you can trust that our lawyers can help you. To benefit from these free legal services, do not hesitate to contact our experts as soon as possible.
Our Zero-Fee guarantee ensures that you will never be required to pay any upfront legal costs for our legal services. In addition, we work on contingency; therefore, our clients will never be required to pay anything until they win. If your lawsuit is not successful, you will not be responsible for paying us anything.
If you are ready to discuss your text message child sexual abuse case with the experts at our law firm, contact us immediately. We are ready to help you every step of the way.
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