Former San Ramon Valley High School student accuses former teacher of sexual abuse
A former student at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville is accusing her former theatre arts teacher of grooming her and sexually abusing her more than a decade ago.
The unidentified woman filed a lawsuit against Ryan Weible and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, accusing the district of turning a blind eye to Weible's alleged inappropriate behavior toward female students that she claims led to her being abused.
The lawsuit alleges that much of the abuse took place on the San Ramon Valley High campus during the 2010-2011 school year.
According to the complaint, Weible allegedly engaged in highly inappropriate grooming behavior with other minor female students, such as giving them hugs, hand massages, having students sit on his lap, and devoting special attention to particular female students.
The complaint alleges Weible would buy the plaintiff meals and gifts, give her rides in his vehicle, pass her personal written notes, and touch her inappropriately. Weible allegedly sexually assaulted the plaintiff both on campus in the theatre room and in her hotel room while on a senior trip to New York City sponsored by the district, the complaint said.
Complaint vs. Ryan Weible and San Ramon Valley School District
The lawsuit also accuses the school district of not investigating any of Weible's alleged inappropriate conduct until 2012, despite receiving numerous concerns about his alleged behavior. The complaint said there was no evidence that the district ever notified the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) about suspected child abuse, which it claims allowed Weible to continue in jobs working with minors. He currently serves as Assistant Head of School for the Bentley School, a private K-12 school with campuses in Lafayette and Oakland.
The plaintiff accuses Weible of sexual assault of a minor and accuses the school district of negligent hiring, supervision, and/or retention of Weible. It seeks general and punitive damages.
Weible has also worked for Diablo Valley College and the Diablo Theatre Company of Walnut Creek and has experience working in the New York theater scene.
Weible and The Bentley School have been contacted for a response to the accusations.
"The District had a duty to supervise Jane Doe and to protect her from potential dangers while on school grounds and to report any reasonable suspicion of child abuse to the CTC, law enforcement and/or child protective services," attorney Robert Allard with Cerri, Boskovich & Allard said in a prepared statement.
The law firm has previously settled another childhood sexual abuse lawsuit case against the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in 2019 in a case involving former wrestling coach Kevin Lopez, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to lewd acts and other charges involving three boys and was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. In that case, SRVUSD was also charged with failing to notify authorities about Lopez's suspected abuse.
A spokesperson for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District told KPIX in an email, "We take these kinds of allegations very seriously. Because this is active litigation, it is our policy not to comment."
Meanwhile, another former SRVUSD teacher is set for trial in a sexual abuse case involving multiple victims. Former Diablo Vista Middle School and San Ramon Valley High School teacher Nicholas Moseby was arrested in September 2022 after two victims came forward to accuse him. Since then, additional victims have come forward and the district has acknowledged that files involving previous complaints about Moseby's behavior cannot be located.
Bay Area News Group reported the former biology teacher and cheerleader coach passed a background check with the district despite having a criminal record. Moseby has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges. His trial is set to begin next month.
The school district's handling of the Moseby case has had repercussions with a former San Ramon Valley High employee. Last month Lafayette's Stanley Middle School Principal Nikki Chaplan was placed on leave as school district officials investigating her role in the sex abuse accusations against Moseby while she was assistant principal at San Ramon Valley High during the time Moseby worked there.