Lawsuit Filed Against Culver City School District Over Sexual Assaults
CULVER CITY (CBSLA.com) — A lawsuit has been filed against the Culver City Unified School District on behalf of a teenager who alleges she was sexually assaulted by members of her high school football team.
The suit was filed Jan. 14 in Los Angeles Superior Court by the 15-year-old's legal guardian.
It states that the girl, who was a 14-year-old freshman at the time, was sexually assaulted by three students at Culver City High School from Dec. 4, 2013, to Dec. 22, 2013.
One of the students, 18-year-old Jeremy Weaver, who was also named in the lawsuit, was arrested in January 2014, convicted of illegal sex acts with a minor and was sentenced to five years of probation in July.
No charges were filed against the other two boys, who were minors at the time.
The suit states that those involved in the crime were starting players on Culver High's varsity football team and "were in peak physical condition, extremely strong and physically intimidating."
It claims the athletes coerced the girl to spend time with them listening to music in the campus parking lot during school hours before forcing her to perform sex acts while their companions watched. It also alleges she was verbally and emotionally harassed, and a video was also secretly made and spread to other students.
Police told KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen that no evidence of video exists within the criminal case.
"The Culver City Unified School District and our entire community believe the health, welfare and safety of our students is paramount," said David LaRose. "We responded immediately and cooperatively to this incident with the Culver City Police Department. Our district will remain unwavering in our commitment to protect the children we serve, and respond aggressively to any action that challenges this priority."
The lawsuit claims district officials were negligent in the supervision of students on school campus and during school-sponsored activities.