Woman suing school district; reports she was abused by teacher over 20 years ago

[Music] right now on CBS News Bay Area stunning allegations of abuse a woman now suing a South Bas School District claiming the district turned a blind eye after she reported she was sexually assaulted by one of her teachers well a former South Bay High School student is Seeking Justice more than 20 years after she says she was sexually assaulted by a teacher good evening I'm Ryan Yamoto and I'm Elizabeth Cook the teacher she's accusing 56-year-old Shawn Thomas San Jose police made the arrest last month and this week the victim filed a complaint against the school district our Amanda Harry spoke with the victim's lawyer and sister about her fight the victim who is listed as Jane Doe on the criminal complaint says she went to the dean when she was 15 and says she did nothing now she wants to hold the school district accountable for what [Music] happened it has impacted every facet of her life Lauren SII is the attorney representing the victim in this case she says she met the victim about a month ago since then she learned everything about her case she was 15 years old she did something very brave and something that took a lot of strength and courage and she reported it she was very clear about it that Mr Thomas was having sex with her at 14 15 years old she was a freshman in high school this is 20 3 S was given Lee High School yearbooks from the victim there's a photo of the suspect Shawn Thomas he was both a teacher and a coach in the staff and administration section a photo of his wife at the time Sarah Thomas listed as a Dean that's who the victim says she reported the abuse to sari says Dean Thomas's reaction was shocking said I can't believe you did this to me after everything that I've done for you so that is why most people remain silent because they're not believed and they're victim blamed and that's exactly what happened here in the criminal complaint some of the sexual encounters happened on campus in Thomas's portable classroom and in a storage room in the boy's locker room the complaint also says they were once caught in the act by the dean in a statement to CBS News Bay Area the district did not say whether Sarah Thomas is still employed by the district but a Sarah Thomas is still listed on the St directory the district did say there is a different leadership in place now than there was in 20022 2003 and they're taking these allegations seriously and cooperating with the investigation Siri says when doe was 15 she became pregnant with Thomas's baby and he forced her to abort it what a burden for a child and she was 16 weeks by the time she was able to actually bring herself to do it but he insisted that she do it she really didn't have a choice Do's sister spoke to us by phone she asked to have her voice distorted to protect her identity for so many years my sister thought it was her fault she felt so much shame and guilt especially after being forced to abort her child Mrs Thomas blamed her so she blamed herself she is now for the first time after 20 years coming to the realization that she was just a child the school district failed to protect her they protected him instead it wasn't right and they need to be held accountable Thomas was arrested on March 8th by San Jose police at the time of his arrest he was still working at Lee High School and Los gato's High School Siri says she questions why they protected Thomas over protecting a child you wonder why right and you see that he was an acclaimed coach it was a prestigious program he was you know coach of the year multiple years in a row you wonder were they protecting the image and reputation of that program in the school based on the attorney's investigation she believes there could be more victims anyone with any information is asked to contact sjpd

Channel: KPIX | CBS NEWS BAY AREA

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Id: nX7CLAkN4ro

Length: 4min 22sec (262 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 19 2024