Three young girls and their family members will again be spared from reliving the sordid details of a child molestation case involving their former grade school teacher after an $8.25 million settlement was finalized March 15 in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Twenty months after disgraced educator John Loyd pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years behind bars, his victims’ attorneys and those for Morgan Hill Unified School District avoided a civil jury trial by ironing out terms of an agreement, which was approved by a judge March 15.
Along with $2.75 million going to each victim in the structured settlement, a non-monetary condition—one of utmost importance to the victims’ families—mandated that district officials implement a predatory identification training program for all MHUSD staff members. District schools must also develop a similar curriculum to educate students on the practices as well.
“These parents would not have settled without some assurance from the school district, which we heard today, that they were going to commit to certain training that we believe should have been implemented years ago,” said attorney Robert Allard, who represents the victims’ families, during an interview outside the courthouse. “Once the money aspect of it became satisfactory to them, they directed us to do whatever we could to make sure that changes were made within this district to make it safer for children.”
The non-monetary conditions caused a slight delay in the finalizing of the settlement, which took place in Judge Mark Pierce’s courtroom at the Downtown Courthouse in San Jose Wednesday morning. The previous evening, school district leadership and their attorneys met in closed session with school board trustees to discuss the terms.
“First and foremost, myself and the rest of the board, our focus was on bringing resolution for the victims—making sure that any settlement would afford them as much support and help as they need,” MHUSD Board President Donna Ruebusch said. “We’re going to continue to be proactive in our efforts to train all employees and the children on how to recognize and best prevent anything like this from ever happening again.”
Loyd is serving prison time on four counts of lewd and lascivious contact with four children. At least three of the victims were students in his fifth grade class at Paradise Valley Elementary School, where the abusive contact took place.
Victims’ families get closure in civil case
A somber, uneasy feeling pervaded the courtroom March 15 as a parent/guardian for each victim had to openly waive their rights to bring any further litigation against the school district. Each was asked a series of questions by their attorney (each had their own representation) in order to move forward with the settlement.
“I understand that we have a resolution to this very difficult and challenging case,” said Judge Pierce to open Wednesday’s proceedings.
While the parents of the victims sat together on the plaintiffs’ side of the courtroom before and after being called up to the attorneys’ desk, the defendants’ spectator side was without any members of MHUSD’s executive cabinet or staff.
The district, however, released a statement shortly after, acknowledging the conclusion of both the criminal and civil cases against the former 55-year-old fifth grade teacher.
“We are most concerned for the students who were victims of Mr. Loyd’s despicable and criminal actions,” read the district’s official statement sent out Wednesday. “The Board of Trustees and the district staff sincerely hope that the compensation in this settlement provides the students and their families the opportunity for valuable care and support in the future.”
Prior to calling the March 15 court hearing to order, attorneys for all parties met privately for 20 minutes inside the judge’s chambers. It took about the same amount of time to finalize the agreement in open court.
“This case will continue until changes are made in this district, and we will use this case to illustrate statewide the need to implement this training in all schools in California,” Allard said. “If there was ever an example as to why predator identification training is necessary, as far as learning the red (flags) of predatory behavior, this case is it.”
In its statement, the district confirmed its commitment “to providing additional training for staff and students” but also that its past practices for training “meets all legal requirements.”
“We will continue to focus on promoting the education and safety of our students and continue to work diligently with our staff, parents, and community to provide the safest environment possible for our students to learn and succeed,” the district states.
Ongoing monitoring
Allard said they will continue to monitor MHUSD to make sure they hold true to that commitment of predatory identification training. “As far as we’re concerned, as far as the parents are concerned, this case does not end today,” he continued.
The young female victims and their families sued the district in 2015 for allowing Loyd—the girls’ fifth grade teacher—to molest the children while they attended his class at Paradise Valley Elementary School on LaCrosse Drive. The complaint accused the district of turning a blind eye while Loyd violated state education laws and district policies that left him alone with the children in his classroom.
Attorneys claim the district disregarded a series of complaints about the teacher’s conduct, which included a tendency by Loyd to “play favorites” with some of his female students. It also alleges that Loyd was directed by his supervisor to retain children in his classroom during lunch and recess periods, which is a violation of state education codes that mandate all students must be out of the classroom during these times.
“From our standpoint, there were breakdowns in this child protection system at all levels, from the policy level to the enforcement level into the ground level where the principal operated,” Allard said. “In our view, if those breakdowns had not occurred, then these molestations would not have happened.”
Loyd, who taught at MHUSD from 2000 until his arrest in 2014, also reportedly covered his classroom windows with paper, obstructing any view inside and out. He began teaching in the district at Nordstrom Elementary School, and was transferred to Paradise Valley on LaCrosse Drive in south Morgan Hill in 2008.
The incidents to which he pleaded guilty took place on four separate occasions from late 2012 to October 2014, according to court documents.
Times editor Michael Moore contributed to this report.
