Five educators at a high school in Los Angeles County where Asian Americans make up 45% of the student population are being accused of sexual abuse.
This is the second lawsuit filed against the El Monte Union High School District in connection to Rosemead High.
The nine former female students allege the abuse took place between 1992 and 2003, but they say the district largely ignored their complaints or that investigations went nowhere, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The names of the complainants are only listed as Jane Does.
The Times also reports an earlier lawsuit filed by three women in May named Rosemead High tennis coach Wing Chan, former teacher Alex Rai and former cross-country coach Eduardo Escobar as defendants, along with the school district.
The group sued following an article in the Business Insider that outlined allegations of sexual abuse at Rosemead High.
The complainants in the latest lawsuit spoke at a news conference.
“Teachers at this school are allowed to do all these horrible things to us without any repercussions. The school district knew of the allegations for decades,” Jane Doe 1 said, according to CBS News. “For myself, it was in the 90’s. I see people here that are much younger than me, and I can’t believe that this was allowed to be taking place this long.”
“It never becomes something that you accept, and it should have never happened to any of us, or anyone else out there,” said Jane Doe G. “No student should have to worry about being pregnant by a teacher before they are 18.”
The District did not respond to a request for comment, but in an email shared by the plaintiffs’ attorneys denied the allegations.
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