L.A. Unified to pay $19.9 million to settle sexual abuse claims against teacher’s aide

The Los Angeles school district will pay $19.9 million to settle sexual-abuse claims against a former teacher’s assistant at a North Hollywood elementary school, including an allegation that he made one young girl repeatedly position herself in a “puppy pose” while he rubbed his hands against her.

The latest settlement adds to a long string of sexual-misconduct payouts by the nation’s second-largest school system.

The former teacher’s assistant, Lino Cabrera, was originally charged with five felony counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 and one count of continued sexual abuse — and had been accused by prosecutors of sexually abusing six girls, ages 10 and 11, between September 2016 and May 2019 at Oxnard Street Elementary.

The settlement, however, is with 14 alleged victims related to incidents that go back to 2012. Other students came forward with claims as attorneys for victims began looking into the case.

“We’re here because we need the district to do a better job,” said attorney Laura Jimenez. “They need to start supervising the children, enforcing their policies.” Children, she said, were “subjected to abuse over the course of months, years, in front of the eyes of multiple teachers.”

In court documents, L.A. Unified denied that any other staff member could have known what Cabrera was doing. In settling the case, the school district admitted no wrongdoing.

“Our thoughts are with those involved in this matter and we are hopeful that this resolution provides some relief in the healing process,” according to a district statement. “The safety of our students remains our top priority.”

Cabrera worked as a teacher’s assistent and also managed a computer lab. According to the school district, he worked at the elementary school for almost a decade, starting in his late teens in 2010.

In depositions, employees at the school described an employee who had developed a strong rapport within the staff and a reputation as a hard and effective worker, said attorney Joanna Robles, part of a team of attorneys representing victims.

“The teachers across the board are saying that this is a very conscientious employee. This is a very polite person. This is a very nice person always willing to help,” Robles said. “He was a teacher’s aide and they expanded his role to really be in charge of the computer lab, to really have his own domain over there.”

“But then again, we hear the testimony of the students. We hear other students who are not even part of the case, saying that they’re seeing the girls being abused in the middle of the classroom while the teachers are there, or in some cases, when the teachers are leaving the classroom, leaving him alone with students.”

At a Thursday news conference, attorneys for the victims cited district policies that require a teacher to be on hand to supervise students — even when a teacher’s aide is assisting.

“There’s a failure to communicate district policies that are designed to protect against kids being molested, said attorney Anthony DeMarco, who worked with Robles on the case.

Attorney Michael Carrillo, part of another team representing victims, acknowledged that the school system has periodic training for all employees on recognizing and reporting abuse, but said that something isn’t working.

“Teachers that we’ve deposed in these cases seem to think that anything short of: ‘I walk in on a student having sex with a teacher, well, I shouldn’t report.’”

The era of big sexual misconduct payouts was supposed to be over in L.A. Unified by the end of 2016. At that point, the school system had paid $40 million related to abuse at Telfair Elementary School, $58 million related to abuse at George de la Torre Elementary and $200 million arising out of misconduct at Miramonte Elementary.

But major payouts continue to occur periodically — sometimes over conduct from decades ago, such as at Cleveland High School, and some from recent transgressions, as at Oxnard Elementary.

Those who spoke Thursday included a former student identified in the litigation as Jane Doe CA.

“We all trusted him. It all has to do with the years he put in there, the friendships he built,” said the young woman. “He made us all feel comfortable with his presence. But that also came with betrayal and he betrayed all of us.”

“Honestly, I’m just here to tell the girls that are out there that they are not alone — even if you feel like you’re gonna be judged, [that] someone won’t believe you. Trust me. Someone out there will believe you,” said the 18-year-old, who added that she continues to suffer from depression arising from the abuse.

The abuse was uncovered when a group of 5th-graders banded together to express concerns to a school staff member in May 2019.

On Thursday, two mothers of alleged victims also spoke, talking about adjustment problems and insecurity their daughters have faced.

“If you think your teacher is a good teacher because he’s happy, he’s friendly — not always,” said a parent who identified herself only as Anna to protect her daughter’s confidentiality.

The abuse included inappropriate and repeated touching. In one case, Cabrera allegedly “positioned” a girl “on her hands and knees” in what he referred to as a “puppy pose” about three times a week over three years, according to legal filings. While she was in this position, Cabrera got on his knees “behind her and rubbed his hands on her buttocks.” He also “guided her face to the ground, causing her back to arch while he rubbed his hands on her buttocks and hips.”

On one occasion, Cabrera allegedly asked her to kiss him, then hugged her and made her “promise not to tell anyone about his actions,” according to the complaint.

In pre-trial documents, the district asserted that Cabrera “was never left alone with a student or a class” — something the plaintiffs dispute.

The district’s court filings suggest the abuse was limited, consisting “of rubbing of the thigh, massaging the shoulders, one instance of touching the buttocks, one instance of asking for a kiss... All touching occurred over the clothing.”

The attorneys for the plaintiffs describe more extensive and repeated misconduct.

In a deal with prosecutors that reduced the charges, Cabrera pleaded no contest in January 2020 to a felony count of continuous sexual abuse, a felony count of a lewd act upon a child under 14 and four misdemeanor counts of child molestation, according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office. As part of the plea deal, Cabrera agreed to register as a sex offender for life.

Cabrera was sentenced to eight years in state prison, according to legal filings.

If the case had gone to trial, the school district’s liability would have hinged on whether other employees of the school district could have or should have known about the abuse.

“There is no such evidence,” the district asserted in pre-trial documents. “Cabrera cleared a background check when he was hired in 2010. No LAUSD employee had any reason to believe that Cabrera was a danger to students.”