LOS ANGELES – A man has settled his lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District in which he alleged that he was sexually abused by an LA’s Best after-school program supervisor more than 20 years ago, prompting a judge to cancel the trial that was about to begin.
On Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rupert A. Byrdsong informed prospective trial jurors of the accord that had been reached on Friday and he dismissed the panel. No settlement terms were divulged in the case brought by a man identified only as John MR Doe concerning the alleged abuses perpetrated by Janeth Lopez from 2002 or 2003 until 2006.
Doe was a student at Franklin High School at the time and at his football coach’s instruction became a volunteer to the LA’s Best after-school program at Monte Vista Elementary School, which is near Franklin High.
Lopez, an LA’s Best supervisor then in her late twenties, engaged in intimacy with Doe at the two schools as well as at Lopez’s apartment — which also was nearby — often after getting him drunk with alcohol, the long running suit filed in April 2020 stated.
“The damage inflicted upon plaintiff by defendant Lopez’s conduct, and LAUSD’s enabling thereof, is nothing short of devastating,” the suit alleged, adding that Doe suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, anger issues, trouble sleeping, intrusive thoughts, embarrassment and flashbacks.
In their previous court papers, LAUSD attorneys denied that its employees were negligent as well as the nature and extent of Doe’s claimed damages.
