Sexual Child Abuse Claims Investigation – Redlands School District
The California Department of Justice has begun an investigation into Redlands Unified School District in Redlands, California. The Bureau of Children’s Justice, BJC, a division of the California DOJ, is handling the investigation. The investigation stems from a large number of claims of child sexual abuse that occurred in the district. The BJC has already begun its investigation by visiting Redlands Unified School District to gather information.
For assistance filing a sex abuse claim in California, please reach out to the experienced California child sex abuse attorney at Beck Law P.C. today.
Many Claims of Child Sexual Abuse
Parents and others voiced their continued concerns regarding a high number of child sexual abuse claims in the district. Redlands Unified School District comprises 25 schools and about 20,000 students. Over the past ten years, the school district paid out more than $40 million to 25 victims of alleged child sexual abuse by teachers. There are additional allegations that 25 teachers in the district sexually abused 50 students between 1999 and 2022. Parents and others are concerned about the apparent widespread abuse in the school system.
Concerns of Parents and Students
Parents and students voiced their concerns repeatedly to the district. As recently as the school board meeting in April, parents demanded answers regarding why administrators ignored alleged claims of abuse. The parents want to know why administrators at Redlands did not report allegations of sexual abuse to authorities. There is also some concern that the administrators actually pressured some students who alleged they were abused to move to another school or school district rather than report the abuse.
Was There a Pledge of Silence?
The number of abuse victims in Redlands Unified School District seems higher than in many other districts in the country. This leads some to believe that an unwritten pledge of silence allowed the abuse to continue unchecked. Parents allege that administrators haven’t done enough about abuse allegations. By law, teachers, administrators, and others are required to file a report when they receive a report of abuse. This did not happen, even though students claimed they reported the abuse to school administrators. Parents are angry that this situation occurred for years without teachers being dealt with properly.
Sexual Child Abuse Claims – No Admission of Guilt
Although the Redlands Unified School District paid settlements to at least 25 victims of child sexual abuse, they have not admitted guilt. They likely decided to settle the cases before going to court to prevent bad publicity and to keep them from having to admit guilt in the cases. Unfortunately, it is becoming more apparent that school districts across the state and the country have likely acted similarly in sexual abuse cases. They may fail to report the alleged abuse and sweep the incident under the rug. When that happens, children are more vulnerable than ever to the possibility of sexual abuse by teachers and others.
The DOJ has not yet finalized its investigation and will continue to review the complicated allegations in Redlands Unified School District. If you or a loved one are the victims of child sexual abuse, there is something you can do about it. Discuss the details of your claim in a confidential consultation to determine how to seek justice. Contact a California child sexual abuse lawyer at Beck Law at (707) 576-7175 to schedule a consultation.
