Appeals court blasts school's claim teen 'consented' to teacher sex, nixes defense jury verdict
Making a controversial claim that a 14-year-old consented to sex with a teacher, in order to win a tort case, appears not to have paid off for a California school district.
Reversing a jury verdict for the defense, a state appeals court on Wednesday ruled in no uncertain terms that the trial judge had erred in instructing the jury on the standard of proof and allowing evidence of the victim’s sexual history. Then the Los Angeles Unified School District “exacerbated the prejudice by using plaintiff’s relationships with boys to argue that she was sophisticated and could, in effect, voluntarily consent to sex” with the teacher, wrote the Court of Appeal.
“Although evidence of plaintiff’s sexual history was purportedly offered only on the issue of damages, her history was discussed throughout the trial,” the opinion continues. “This evidence and argument about it is highly prejudicial and warrants reversal even considered in isolation.”
For similar reasons, a school district argument and jury instructions saying the teen’s damages could be reduced due to her claimed contributory negligence also should not have been made, the appellate court writes.
In addition to being based on “no evidence of any wrongful conduct by plaintiff,” this approach was incorrect because “comparative fault has no application in a case involving the sexual abuse of a minor student by an adult teacher in a position of authority in a public school setting.”
Despite the criminal conviction of the teacher in the case, the district sought to portray his sexual abuse, both at trial and on appeal, as consensual behavior for which a child could be blamed, the court pointed out. Doing so “was wrong in the trial court and is wrong now. There is no case or statutory authority or persuasive reasoning supporting the notion that students sexually victimized by their teachers can be contributorily responsible for the harm they suffer.”
A spokeswoman for the school district declined to comment, telling the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.), which provides a link to the opinion, that it is reviewing the decision.
Frank Perez, who represented plaintiff on appeal, said she and her legal team are “super-grateful” for the ruling.
“Our client needed to be vindicated and needed to hear it is not her fault,” he said. Due to what the Court of Appeal clearly identified as incorrect trial-court rulings, the jury “affirmed the shaming and blaming of a child victim.”
Hat tip: Daily Mail
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “School district blasted for saying teen consented to sex with teacher makes same claim in appeal”
