Court Rules That LAUSD Has To Pay Victim Of Sexual Abuse $1.4 Million

After an eight-day sexual abuse trial between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the family of a 12-year-old special needs student, jurors have finally made their decision. The school district will have to pay the girl's family $1.4 million for their part in her abuse.

The case has been roughly three years in the making. In 2010, reports first surfaced of the sexual abuse inflicted upon the then-9-year-old. A teacher heard the two students behind a shed and immediately escorted them to the principal.

Apparently, that was not the first time that the boy had abused the girl, who suffers from "mild mental retardation." He admitted to physically and sexually abusing her on multiple occasions. The prosecution claimed that the school district left the two unattended several times despite the boy's history of violence.

"Because the victim was special needs, she was not able to express herself. LAUSD minimized her harm throughout the trial," said attorney David Ring, who with Louanne Masry represented the child's family. "The jury found that offensive."

The school initially offered the family a settlement of $225,000, which they declined. LAUSD eventually admitted that they were at significant fault for the abuse after it came to light that the student-to-teacher ratio in the after school program where the abuse happened was upwards of 100:1.

The girl is believed to have suffered extensively from both the physical and sexual abuse inflicted on her by the boy. Prosecutors provided evidence that the girl now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorder as a result.

"Despite intense therapy, she continues to exhibit nightmares, aggressive behavior ... fear of males, flashbacks, crying spells ... ," the lawyers stated.

The boy had a long history of sexually related offenses on his school record. He had been cited for punching a child in the genitals, making sexually inappropriate remarks, and showing his penis to other children.