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A former Redlands, California high school student who claims he was abused by a teacher who was convicted on multiple counts of sex with students is suing the school district.
According to The East Bay Times, the former Redlands High School student has filed a lawsuit alleging he was sexually abused by former teacher Laura Whitehurst in 2007, who has been convicted on multiple counts linked to her sex with students.
Attorneys have alleged that multiple teachers and administrators were aware of Whitehurst’s trysts with students but failed to report it to police.
A previous lawsuit resulted in a $6 million settlement paid out by Redlands.
The lawsuit, filed Friday, Jan. 29, in San Bernardino Superior Court by the Irvine firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, alleges Whitehurst, a former English teacher and soccer coach, began having sex with the student in 2007, when he was 14 years old.
Another alleged victim of former California teacher Laura Whitehurst sues district
East Bay Times
High school teacher Whitehurst admitted to police that she had sex with one student at least 10 to 15 times at her apartment and in the classroom.
According to the lawsuit, Whitehurst allegedly fostered a method of inviting male students — aged 14 to 18 — into her classroom, where she would engage them in sexual discussions and eventually have sex with them. She had a seven-year career with the school district, teaching at all of Redlands’ high schools for some period of time prior to her arrest.
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“There is a good reason why Redlands Unified School District is the national poster child for sexual abuse of students. More than 20 teachers and administrators in RUSD have been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with their students over the last ten years,” said a statement from attorney Morgan Stewart.
“The district had complaints against her for six years. If they had acted in 2007 and removed her from the classroom, she never would have injured our clients and other children,” Stewart said.
Whitehurst also dated students and had sex with them at her home, according to the lawsuit.
Another alleged victim of former Redlands High School teacher Laura Whitehurst sues district
The Press-Enterprise
High school teacher Whitehurst pleaded guilty to having sex with two students in 2013, after giving birth to a child fathered by one of the teen boys.
The boy Whitehurst was convicted of molesting is a different person than the plaintiff in the current civil case.
According to previous reporting from The Los Angeles Times, the student who fathered Whitehurst’s baby was the recipient of the previous $6 million settlement.
As part of an agreement, Whitehurst pleaded guilty to multiple sex crime counts and was released after six months. She is required to register as a sex offender and shares custody of the child with the former student, who is now in his 20s.
The former student who fathered Whitehurst’s baby said the relationship started in 2012 when he was 16 and lasted nearly a year.
Student who fathered teacher’s baby receives $6-million abuse settlement from Redlands schools
Los Angeles Times
According to The Daily Mail in 2013, high school teacher Whitehurst had admitted to having sex with three students despite initially pleading not guilty to dozens of counts.
She ultimately agreed to plead guilty to four counts of unlawful sex with a minor and two counts of oral copulation with a minor.
Prior to her arrest, Whitehurst had graduated from Redlands East Valley High School and taught English to sophomores at Citrus Valley.
The Redlands school district did not respond to requests for comment from local media on the latest lawsuit.
‘The victim, now 20, told police that he and Whitehurst had sex in her classroom before school, as well as at her apartment and in her car,’ a police news release stated.
Daily Mail
