Sexual Abuse by Teachers: The Wall Street Journal Turns to David Ring for Insight on the Widespread Problem
In May 2016, the Los Angeles Unified School District agreed to pay $88 million to settle sexual misconduct claims filed on behalf of 30 students involving two elementary school teachers. The claims brought against the District state that although there were warnings and concerns regarding predatory behavior, administrators did nothing to penalize the teachers. Both teachers pleaded no contest and are currently serving prison sentences.
The Wall Street Journal turned to sexual abuse Attorney David Ring for further insight regarding why the outbreak of criminal behavior in our nation’s schools continues, and why little is being done to prevent further misconduct.
“You’d think it’s something that would be priority number one, to make it go away. But every year, I keep having more and more cases,” said Ring, who has handled hundreds of sexual abuse cases over the past two decades. “If an administrator gets wind of some bad conduct or misconduct, I think in their mind they weigh the cost-benefit: ‘This is going to be a hassle to terminate this tenured employee. So I’m going to wait and hope for the best.’ And that never ends well.”
The most recent study was conducted in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Education, which analyzed data from 2,065 teenagers. Of those surveyed, 8.7% reported “noncontact” sexual misconduct, involving things such as lewd comments. However, 6.7% of those surveyed reported more serious misconduct-touching, kissing or forcible sexual contact. Overall, 9.6% of the students reported experiencing one or both types of unwanted attention from school personnel.
Serving clients throughout the Greater Los Angeles and Southern California area, we represent victims in a variety of civil litigation cases. If you or a loved one has been injured, turn to an experienced Los Angeles personal injury or sexual assault lawyer.
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