California school district to pay $25 million to settle 2 final sex abuse lawsuits against former coaches

The Pomona Unified School District this week informed a pair of settlements in the final two of a series of lawsuits alleging inappropriate conduct by former coaches against eight women while they were students at Pomona High School in the s The district agreed on a total of million to settle the two lawsuits million for one lawsuit and million to be divided among three plaintiffs in a second during closed session at a Board of Schooling meeting Wednesday Sept district spokesman Ronald Gonzales-Lawrence declared Related Articles Diocese of Oakland seeks to pull plug on bankruptcy send sex abuse cases back to court Head of Mexican megachurch right now serving prison time in California is indicted in on federal sex trafficking charges Bay Area sex offender with cancer denied mercy release Convicted sex offender living at California daycare arrested by ICE San Jose Ex-councilmember Omar Torres sentenced to years for child sex conviction The individuals accused of misconduct no longer work for the district Gonzales-Lawrence stated PUSD remains steadfast in its commitment to attendee safety and well-being and continues to strengthen policies procedures and training to foster a safe supportive and respectful circumstances for every novice entrusted to our care He also noted in a announcement that information was limited because the conduct alleged dated back several decades but in the interest of all parties the district determined that settlement was the largest part appropriate resolution Following the passage of Assembly Bill a bill that extended the statute of limitations for casualties of childhood assault a series of lawsuits were filed against the Pomona Unified School District by eight women who claimed they were groomed and sexually abused by coaches one of whom was also a locker room supervisor on and off campus in the mid- to late s The coaches named in the lawsuits were men ranging in age from their s to their s at the time of the abuse court documents show The women were mostly in their s by the time the lawsuits were filed and bulk graduated high school more than two decades ago All were involved in either track or cheerleading while they attended Pomona High School One of the casualties left the school after her freshman year and another moved out of state before graduation No criminal charges were ever filed against any PUSD staff members In January a jury awarded million to one of the women identified as Jane Doe who dropped out of high school before graduation and returned more than a decade later to earn her GED Three other women had reached settlements in their lawsuits The settlements communicated Wednesday were for the final two cases one involving Jane Does and and the second involving Jane Doe The women were not identified in the lawsuits because they were minors at the time of the abuse The former coaches named in the two lawsuits include Brian Crichlow Herman Hopson Derick Pugh and Vincent Spirlin Jane Doe a track athlete alleged that Hopson and Crichlow groomed her and sexually abused her on campus during her sophomore and junior years but didn t come forward until January when for the first time she discovered that her psychological injury as an adult was caused by the abuse and learned that others had been victimized by the two coaches In the separate lawsuit Jane Doe alleged abuse by Crichlow Jane Doe alleged abuse by Hopson and Pugh and Jane Doe alleged abuse by Sprilin All three alleged the coaches invited them into an office inside the boys locker room and offered them alcohol with two also being offered marijuana before they were sexually abused both on and off campus Jane Doe mentioned she left Pomona High School after her freshman year because she was embarrassed about being referred to around campus as Brian Crichlow s girlfriend Crichlow is entering his th year as the head coach of Mt San Antonio College s women s basketball scheme Pugh is in his second year coaching men s basketball at Ventura College Spirlin coached Ganesha High School s girls basketball crew to a CIF Southern Section A title Gonzales-Lawrence declared the settlements were agreed upon outside of court by the plaintiffs and their attorneys Roberta Perlman PUSD Board of Tuition clerk declined to comment Thursday Attorneys representing the casualties did not this instant respond to requests seeking comment The school district s attorney declined to comment