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Civil lawsuits aim to compensate victims of child molestation for the impact of the abuse – which usually lasts a lifetime. Attorneys at Estey Bomberger file a lawsuit not just against the predator, but also those that enabled the predator’s actions or did nothing to prevent it. We understand that child molestation is a huge problem in our country. In filing a civil suit, we force school districts, religious groups, youth organizations and others to change their rules, policies and procedures so that these horrific crimes may be prevented.
There are 37 school districts in Fresno County, including 352 public schools, serving 196, 253 students, according to publicschoolreview.com. Additionally, there are 46 private schools in the county, serving 5,623 students. In the 2013-2014 school year, the Fresno Unified School District ranked the fourth largest school district in the state, behind only Los Angeles Unified, San Diego Unified, and Long Beach Unified School Districts. Some of the school districts in the county include the Clovis Unified School District (43 schools), Kerman Unified School District (7 schools), and Sanger Unified School district (20 schools),
Estey Bomberger reviews and monitors news stories and reports of crime and lawsuits involving public and private schools nationwide. The following reports are for schools located in Fresno County, CA. If your child has been sexually abused or negligently supervised and you would like more information about your options or rights in a civil suit, contact us for a free consultation by filling out the form at the bottom of this page. We are here to help you, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
- AMERICAN UNION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (EASTON)
2801 W Adams Ave, Fresno, CA 93706
Victor Osvaldo Gomez, 39, a teacher at American Union Elementary School, was arrested in January 2015 following an investigation that begain in April 2014 involving allegations that Gomez inappropriately touched six female eighth grade students. Upon his arrest, Gomez was placed on administrative leave with the Washington Unified School District. The acts reportedly took place from August 2013 to March 2014. News Source: yourcentralvalley.com, ABC News
- CLOVIS HIGH SCHOOL (CLOVIS)
1055 Fowler Avenue, Clovis, CA 93611
Matthew Pena, 32, a photography teacher and assistant baseball coach at Clovis High School, and Dwayne Andrews, 30, an assistant football coach for Clovis High, were both arrested January 8, 2015, on suspicion of being sexually involved with a 17-year-old student. Both were charged with having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, oral copulation and lewd acts. Bail for each was set at $65,000. Sources: Fresno Bee, Fox 40
- CLOVIS EAST HIGH SCHOOL (CLOVIS)
2940 Leonard Ave, Clovis, CA 93619
Fernando Garcia, 24, a high school baseball coach at Clovis East High School, was arrested in April 2015 on suspicion of having sex with a student under 16 years old. Garcia had worked for the Clovis Unified School District as a Campus Monitor (Security) and as an Assistant Freshman Baseball Coach. News Source: ABC News
- COALINGA HIGH SCHOOL (COALINGA)
750 Van Ness Street, Coalinga, CA 93210
Eric Campos, a substitute teacher and basketball coach for the Coalinga-Huron Joint Unified School District, was arrested in June 2013 after he was accused of molesting a student. A suicide note left by a former student prompted a four-month-long investigation which revealed information that Campos had inappropriate relationships with several students. A search of Campos’ home confirmed contact between Campos and three students. Campos was charged with multiple counts of annoying and molesting a minor, distributing harmful matter to a minor with the intent of seduction and having contact with a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense. News Source: Kern Golden Empire
- FREEDOM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (CLOVIS)
2955 Gettysburg Ave, Clovis, CA 93611
Neng Yang, 43, of Clovis, a teacher at Freedom Elementary School, was arrested in January 2012, after Clovis Police learned of potentially inappropriate behavior involving students. The incident came to light when a mom noticed her daughter wasn’t on the playground having PE with her classmates. When she asked her daughter about it, the daughter said she’d been playing “the lollipop game” with her teacher, where he blindfolded her and let her taste different lollipops. Based on the description, authority were concerned abuse was involved. A search of the classroom found cell phone videos and photos of the girl performing oral sex on Yang on several occasions. In April 2014, Yang was sentenced to 38 years in federal prison News Sources: ABC 30
- HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL
5550 N 1st St, Fresno, CA 93710
Megan Denman, 30 a Social Studies and cheerleading coach at Hoover High School, was arrested on April 9, 2012 after her student was pulled over in a car belonging to her and admitted she had loaned it to him – and that they were having a sexual relationship. The student told police that they started having a relationship in the summer of 211 and that they would have sex at her home. The teenager was reluctant to pursue criminal charges but Denman was arrested four days later, and resigned from her job. In January 2013, Denman was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to serve three years on probation. News Sources: Daily Mail, Fresno Bee
- KERMAN HIGH SCHOOL
205 S 1st St, Kerman, CA 93630
Angelica Vega, 34, an English as a second language teacher at Kerman High School, was arrested in November 2009 for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student. Vega was also a coach for the girls JV soccer team. Vega originally pleaded not guilty but then changed her plea to avoid a trial and avoid a possible four years in prison. She was sentenced in October 2010 to 180 days in jail. News Source: ABC News
- PARLIER HIGH SCHOOL (PARLIER)
601 3rd Street, Parlier, CA 93648
Anthony Lepore, 25, a math teacher and boys varsity basketball coach at Parlier High School, was arrested in January 2014 on suspicion of assaulting a 16-year-old girl. He was initially released from custody while the Sanger Police Department investigated the case, and then was arrested again in October 2014. The victim’s family filed a lawsuit against Parlier Unified School District in Fresno County Superior Court over the incident, saying school officials were negligent in the hiring of Lepore. Both the criminal and civil cases are pending. News Sources: ABC News, Fresno Bee
- RIVERDALE HIGH SCHOOL (RIVERDALE)
3086 W Mt Whitney Ave, Riverdale, CA 93656
Steven Christopher Montes, 27, a band director at Riverdale High School, was arrested in August 2014 on child pornography charges after a student found Montes’ camera in a room where she went to change clothes. The school immediately called the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s deputies seized Montes’ computers from the school and went to his home in Visalia and confiscated his computers and other devices. Montes was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of minors. According to court documents, from November 2013 through August 2014 and while serving as band teacher at Riverdale High, Montes took sexually explicit videos of three girls on campus. Montes reportedly immediately resigned after being confronted with the allegations. In December 2015, Montes was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by ten years probation. News Source: Fresno Bee
- SANGER HIGH SCHOOL (SANGER)
1045 Bethel Avenue, Sanger, CA 93657
Sergio Heredia, 48, a social studies teacher at Sanger High School and 13-year employee of the district, was arrested in November 2011 on suspicion of raping a 17-year-old girl. The alleged victim was not a student of Heredia’s and attended school in another district. News Source: The Sanger Herald
- SELMA HIGH SCHOOL (SELMA)
3125 Wright St, Selma, CA 93662
Jordan Alexander Williams 24, a teacher’s assistant in the choir department, was arrested in March 2015 and charged with two counts of annoying or molesting a minor. The Selma Police Department had been contacted earlier in the week regarding possible inappropriate behavior between Williams and a student. News Source: Hanford Sentinel, Fresno Bee
- UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL
2611 Matoian Way, Fresno, CA 93710
Jonathan Malcolm, 32, a music teacher at University High School, was arrested in January 2009 after having repeated sexual contact with one of his former students after she graduated from University High School. Two other students came forward and said that in 2007 and 2008, Malcolm sent them sexual text messages, emails and pictures. In 2011, Malcolm was sentenced to 7 years and 4 months in prison. News Sources: ABC 30