Folsom Cordova Unified found negligent in sexual abuse of disabled student in 2018
The Folsom Cordova Unified School District was found to be negligent in the sexual abuse of a disabled child while on a school bus in 2018, jurors found following a lawsuit.
Filed in 2019, the lawsuit stated the victim, who was 12 at the time, was sexually abused while on a bus that was taking them to Cordova High School.
The defendant was another disabled student six years older than the victim and believed to be "unable to appreciate the consequences of his conduct, or intentionally cause harm to others," according to the complaint.
Since both were students in the district, Folsom Cordova Unified should have been supervising and managing the defendant's behavior and protecting the victim, the lawsuit stated.
In addition, district staff witnessed, or at the least should have been aware of, the abuse but did not report it, the complaint said.
In their verdict, the jury assigned 100% responsibility for the abuse to the school district. The victim was awarded $1.7 million.