Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LAUSD Can't Blame Student For Being Sexually Assaulted By Teacher, Judge Says
A judge has ruled that the L.A. Unified School District can no longer argue that a student was partially to blame for her own sexual assault by her teacher. On Wednesday, the state Court of Appeal reversed a lower court's ruling, which had allowed attorneys in the case to include the 14-year-old girl's sexual history or information that suggests was somewhat responsible for having a sexual relationship with her 28-year-old teacher, reports the L.A. Times. The case involves a former student at Edison Middle School who was coerced into sex both on and off campus by her teacher, Elkis Hermida, 28, over a period of seven months between 2010 and 2011. Hermida was convicted of lewd acts with a minor in July of 2011 and sentenced to three years in prison. But in 2013, a jury rejected the girls claim that LAUSD was negligent and therefor liable for her emotional damage, which prompted the appeal.
During the appeal, the girl's attorneys argued that Judge Lawrence Cho should not have allowed evidence about her prior sexual history or that she was partially at fault for her sexual abuse suggested by attorneys for LAUSD. The state agreed, reversed Cho's decision and has ordered a new trial.
"On appeal, the District continues to maintain that a minor student who is the victim of sexual abuse by a teacher bears responsibility for preventing that abuse. The District was wrong in the trial court and is wrong now," Judge Richard H. Kirschner wrote in his decision. "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."
L.A. Unified's attorneys had previously said the girl was partly to blame because she had lied to her parents and teachers to conceal the sexual relationship with Hermida and "therefore thwarted the District's ability to find out about it and stop it." They also argued that it was appropriate to include her sexual history in order to evaluate her level of emotional distress. During the appeal, the district argued that the jury didn't consider the issue or responsibility or sexual history in the case, and instead it based the verdict was not negligent because they did not know or have reason to suspect Hermida.
Support for LAist comes from
However, the appellate court said that the girl's alleged consent and sexual history were repeatedly brought up throughout the trail and "wrongly portrayed her in a negative light and was highly prejudicial."
According to the girl's Los Angeles attorney, Frank Perez, she is elated with the reversed ruling. "We are all super grateful," Perez said to the Times. "Our client needed to be vindicated and needed to hear it is not her fault. The jury, due to what we now know were the [trial court's] wrong rulings, affirmed the shaming and blaming of a child victim."
Shannon Haber, L.A. Unified spokeswoman, said the district is reviewing the decision and had no further comment.
Back in July, Governor Brown signed into law SB 14, which prevents defendants accused of sexually abusing minors in civil suits from arguing that the sex was consensual. The bill arose following the L.A. Unified case.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist