Lawsuits: San Bruno Park School District failed to prevent sexual abuse of student

The first victim, who identified herself as I.Z. during a March 5 press conference held by law firms suing the district, spoke to her experience being dismissed by school administrators.

She reported the abuse of her teacher, 34-year-old Jeremy Yeh, but was called a liar by then-principal of El Crystal, Jeanne Elliott, a complaint filed with the San Mateo County Superior Court alleges. According to the complaint, Elliott forced the victim and a witness to have a meeting with Yeh to recount the allegations.

“It was really, really hard, especially at the beginning, by being told that I was lying,” I.Z. said. “It definitely took down a lot of hope for me, and it took down a lot of justice for myself. But I learned that if I can’t do it, it’s going to be hard for other people to do it, so you just got to stick through it.”

That abuse occurred during the 2016-17 school year at El Crystal, an elementary school within the San Bruno Park School District that has since been shut down. I.Z. was between 6 and 7 at the time, she said. Yeh also taught at Allen Elementary School, which is still open.

The San Mateo County District Attorney’s office — that successfully obtained Yeh’s guilty verdict Feb. 28, for which he faces up to 425 years to life in prison — is looking into criminal charges for Elliott and then-Superintendent Cheryl Olson, according to the complaint.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe confirmed that the office was looking into any potential for criminal charges for one administrator.

“We are conducting a review to see if there was a violation of mandatory reporting duty,” he said.

Both women did not report the abuse to police as required by California mandatory reporting laws, the complaint alleges.

“We are here to hold the school responsible for their actions and inactions, particularly the fact that they had a report of abuse by Mr. Yeh, and ignored that, which allowed Mr. Yeh to continue to be employed at that school and go on to abuse several other girls,” attorney Bobby Thompson said.

Thompson is representing two of the later victims and their families. Parents of the two girls — who requested not to be identified to protect the identities of their children — spoke at the press conference through a translator, Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, executive director of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar.

The father of one of the victims recounted the toll the abuse took on her, noting that her personality changed drastically after and she began to self-harm.

“She was a very stable daughter, very stable, emotionally, very happy, and has drastically changed as a result of this,” he said through Hernandez-Arriaga. “If they would have taken their job seriously to protect the children, especially the administration, this would not have happened.”

Parents should pay close attention to who their child is interacting with at school, a mother of one of the victims said during the press conference. A desire for justice and systemic change at the school district is motivating her participation in the lawsuit.

“The strength comes from, first of all, God, the love for our family, and we want justice,” she said through Hernandez-Arriaga. “This should never happen to any student, any child. No child should ever have to hide or be afraid of sharing with their family what happens to them at school.”

Yeh engaged in grooming and abusive conduct with both students — identified in the lawsuit as plaintiffs J.R. and K.M. — that included a game called ‘tickle time,’ during which he would grope their breasts and genitalia, the complaint said. Yeh also assigned female students “points” that allowed them to skip recess and spend time with him alone, the complaint said.

Both families said they found out about the abuse only after Yeh was arrested in 2023 and the San Bruno Police Department requested parents speak with children who had him as a teacher.

Hernandez-Arriaga encouraged victims and their families who might be fearful of speaking up because of their immigration status to come forward.

“We’re very concerned about other children that have suffered this in silence, that have not been able to come forward, especially our Spanish-speaking children that might be scared because of status,” she said.

It’s important community members know that reporting sexual abuse to law enforcement will not threaten their immigration status and could potentially qualify them for U visas, Thompson said.

It’s possible there are more child victims of Yeh’s sexual abuse than are denoted in the lawsuits, lawyers at the press conference said.

“There were charges brought with regards to several girls. That always means there are many more,” attorney Valerie Rose said. “That’s just the pattern of these cases and the pattern of these perpetrators.”

I.Z. encouraged other potential victims to speak out.

“Yes, it’s really difficult. The process is really, really long, and it’s something you have to be really, really strong for, but you got it,” she said. “Don’t let other people define who you are, because of something you went through.”