Former students sue Southern California school district following teacher's conviction

Former students from a Norwalk middle school filed a lawsuit against the district for failing to remove a teacher who was later convicted of sexually abusing children. 

Scott Waln taught at the Los Alisos Middle School until police arrested him on suspicion of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in 2022. Two years later, a jury convicted him of molesting several minors. A judge sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison. 

"For him, it was just like a game to him," one of the victims said. "The constant smirks he would have, thinking that he got away with it. A few years later we found out he got the justice I deserved. And I had to realize that I was no longer the little girl I once was."

The two victims, who were both 11 years old and in sixth grade, claim the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District knew about the danger Waln posed to the children and allowed him to continue teaching. 

"The failure of the Norwalk-La Mirada School District is what allowed this to happen," attorney Dominque Boubion said. "Thankfully, the criminal courts could recognize what, apparently, the school district could not. There was a monster on their campus and he deserved to be removed and not kept in confined spaces with children."

Their complaint seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory damages from the district and Waln. It also aims to obtain punitive damages against Waln. 

While district officials did not address specifics regarding the case, they said they would "participate in the litigation process in good faith."

"We do wish to confirm our unwavering commitment to the health and safety of our students.That commitment never has, and never will, change," district officials wrote. "We have a zero-tolerance policy for abuseor misconduct of any kind, and we are wholly dedicated to creating and maintaining acommunity of students and educators free from abuse and harassment."