Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed against Hacienda La Puente Unified School District by Estey Bomberger

Another victim of former Los Altos High School teacher David Park is alleging the District failed to properly supervise Park and ignored red flag behavior.

Online PR News – 08-April-2016 – A second child sexual abuse lawsuit (Los Angles County Superior Court, Case No. BC615789) has been filed against the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. The lawsuit states that the District’s failure to properly supervise former Los Altos High School chemistry teacher David Park led to the molestation of two students.

Janet Roe’s lawsuit claims that her sexual molestation by Park occurred in the classroom as well as off school grounds. The lawsuit alleges that the school failed to follow a standard of care that would have prevented Roe from being in the classroom with Park. Further, the lawsuit claims that administrators missed or ignored numerous predatory grooming behaviors exhibited by Park.

“Someone needs to hold the school district accountable and tell them they to need to enforce policies and procedures that prevent students from being alone behind closed doors with teachers in the classroom,” said Roe’s attorney, Stephen Estey, of the San Diego law firm of Estey Bomberger.

The lawsuit alleges that between August 2010 and August 2012, while on school premises, Roe was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Park. Roe has since experienced frequent mental, physical, and nervous pain and suffering.

In February of 2016, Jane Doe, also represented by attorney Stephen Estey, filed a lawsuit (Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC 609644) claiming she was abused between August 2014 and January 2015 on school premises. Doe, like Roe, seeks punitive damages and claims that the school failed to properly supervise its teachers and protect students from Park. Because of their ages, both girls are not being identified and instead going by the names of Janet Roe and Jane Doe.

Sexual abuse by school teachers is a major problem in this country, according to Mr. Estey. In 2013, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing blocked the credentialing of 1,475 teachers due to their sexual misconduct. California now ranks third in the nation for sex abuse complaints against educators. “This school violated the trust of both the students and the parents by allowing a sexual predator to have unsupervised access to kids,” said Estey.

David Park pleaded guilty in October 2015 and is serving a three-year sentence for the crimes. He was caught when a teacher noticed that Doe seemed very upset and was told that she had been molested by Park. Both girls were 15 years old when they were molested.

Besides working at Los Altos High School since 2009, Park also worked as a walk-on football coach in 2007 and 2008 at Ruben S. Ayala High School in Chino Hills and was a teacher at Western Christian High School in Upland.

Mr. Estey is asking that any witnesses or additional victims contact his office.

About Estey Bomberger
Estey Bomberger is an award-winning San Diego personal injury law firm known for its record setting verdicts and settlements for the victims of sexual abuse. We hold organizations that fail to protect children accountable for their role in harming a child. The financial penalties incurred in civil litigation force negligent institutions to change their policies, which makes our children safer.