Lawsuit: Millbrae teacher sexually assaulted students

The crimes were reported to administrators at the school, and subsequent interviews with students yielded no intervention by school staff, according to the lawsuit additionally claiming the incidents were not reported to law enforcement.

“The school did absolutely nothing about plaintiffs’ reports of sexual abuse. Instead, they allowed Ms. Molina to remain employed at Taylor Middle School for the remainder of the school year — further victimizing and traumatizing plaintiffs and the other victims,” said the lawsuit.

Debbie French, superintendent of the Millbrae Elementary School, said the district has not been served the lawsuit and does not comment publicly on pending litigation.

But she committed to a prompt and thorough investigation, with an intent to protect the health and safety of district students.

“Millbrae school district is deeply committed to fostering positive learning environments, preparing our students for success and ensuring the safety, security and well-being of all students entrusted to our care. We do not tolerate any behavior that undermines those values,” she said in an email.

French was hired as the district’s chief administrator last year. The crime was alleged to have been committed during the tenure of former superintendent Linda Luna, who resigned in 2015 to take a similar position with the Washington Unified School District in Sacramento.

When the students allegedly notified school staff, rather than report the incidents to police, the lawsuit said students were given the choice of telling their parents or having the school make the call. While most of the girls are believed to have kept the information to themselves due to shame or embarrassment, the lawsuit alleged administrators contacted one of the plaintiffs’ parents and committed to handling the reports appropriately — but those promises were not fulfilled.

“By failing to report the abuse to a local law enforcement agency, sheriff’s department, child welfare agency and/or the victims’ parents, defendants made a concerted effort to hide evidence and information relating to the childhood sexual assaults that occurred at Taylor Middle School,” said the lawsuit.

While the plaintiffs were in seventh grade, Molina would request the students stay behind after class to perform menial tasks while the teacher would repeatedly touch, harass and molest them, according to the lawsuit. The physical assaults also occurred while class was in session, and Molina would verbally harass the students as well, said the lawsuit.

The lawsuit further alleged Molina was motivated to assault the students because she was aware of their sensitivities and hoped to groom them for inappropriate relationships.

“Ms. Molina was very friendly with plaintiffs, all in a calculated plan to abuse them to satisfy her own sexual deviancies. Ms. Molina knew that as young twelve or thirteen year old girls, like many teen girls, plaintiffs could be easily manipulated by an adult in a position of authority,” said the lawsuit.

Allegations of sexual assault by a teacher at Taylor Middle School are not unique. Former English and drama teacher Heather Amanda Butts was arrested in August 2016 on suspicion of having an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old high school student. The girl was 13 when the relationship began, prosecutors said.

Butts, who changed her surname to Wilson after the arrest, was ultimately sentenced to 120 days in jail and three years’ probation. She was also mandated to register as a sex offender.

Regarding the Molina case, the lawsuit said the victims suffered “extreme mental anguish and have been permanently scarred,” and the plaintiffs are seeking unnamed damages for past and future medical and psychological treatment, as well as mental, emotional and physical anguish plus lost wages as well as other assorted expenses.

austin@smdailyjournal.com