Los Angeles

Former Student Sues Providence High School In Burbank, Alleges Sexual Abuse Of Minor By Then Track Coach

July 11, 2021 / 4:57 PM PDT / KCAL News

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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Providence High School, a private Catholic school in Burbank, was sued by a former student who alleges her track and field coach sexually molested her as a minor in 2019, and then warned her not to tell anyone what he'd done.

The lawsuit, brought Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, identifies 27-year-old Mohamed Haddada as the former coach. The now 18-year-old plaintiff is listed only as Jane Doe.

According to court documents, Doe was 16-years-old and in 10th grade when Haddada was assigned as her track and field coach. The suit alleges that the then coach began manipulating Doe's emotions to take advantage of her age in order to ultimately sexually abuse her.

Haddada is said to have had adult-oriented conversations with the teenage girl, shared personal information about his private life and paid special attention to her.

In 2019, the Providence High track-and-field program continued into the summer, with the team practicing regularly under Haddada's supervision, according to the suit. The coach contacted several students to attend a school-sponsored track competition at the University of Las Vegas in late June 2019, include Doe, even though she had not qualified to compete in any of the events.

The suit also alleges that Haddada, the only chaperone with Doe and two other students attending the track competition, stayed in the same motel where the student athletes were. He is said to have checked the plaintiff and a female friend of hers into their room, but when Doe became ill later from possible food poisoning, he asked her to stay in his room so she could sleep well prior to the next day's competition.

As Doe attempted to go to sleep, Haddada began inappropriately touching her and eventually had involuntary sex with her, the suit states. "Plaintiff left the room and returned to her hotel room, where she cried through the entire night," the suit states.

Doe told her friend what happened and the incident left the plaintiff with bruises on her thighs, the suit states. She asked her friend not to tell anyone what had happened to her, according to the suit.

That same month and on previous occasions, Providence administrators told Haddada and others that they believed he acted inappropriately with minor female students, but "did nothing further to investigate Haddada's inappropriate conduct, did not supervise Haddada more closely [and] did not restrict or limit Haddada's ability to be alone with minor students," the suit states.

Had the administration done something after the earlier allegations against Haddada, Doe "would never have been abused," the suit states. Doe confronted Haddada a few weeks after the alleged incident in Las Vegas and he admitted he sexually abused her while also telling her he was molested as a child, according to the suit.

Haddada made "express and implied threats" to Doe not to tell anyone what had happened between them, the suit states. However, Doe confided in 2019 to her mother, who told police, and they arrested Haddada.

The suit's allegations include sexual abuse of a minor, sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent hiring, supervision and retention. Doe seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

A Providence High School representative could not be immediately reached.

Haddada is awaiting trial on charges of sexual abuse, according to court papers.