Irvine, California - Attorneys representing a former student at the elite private Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California, announced the filing of a child sexual abuse lawsuit against the school and the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. The lawsuit alleges that Plaintiff John H. Doe was repeatedly sexually molested and harassed by computer sciences teacher Irasema Triana beginning when he was a 16-year-old student and she was a 32-year-old married woman with children. The abuse allegedly continued for more than two years.
The alleged abuse included but was not limited to: hand holding, flirting, touching, fondling, oral sex, and sexual intercourse on the Bishop ‘s School campus, at Tirana’s house, at a local hotel, at a local restaurant, at a local park, and across various other San Diego area locations. According to the lawsuit, Triana would bring Plaintiff into the computer lab with the windows covered and the door locked and subject Plaintiff to sexual acts. On multiple occasions, teachers and Bishop’s Headmistress saw Plaintiff Triana exiting the computer lab together with no other person in the room. Plaintiff recalls the headmistress following up with questions that suggested knowledge about what was happening, including but not limited to: “how are you really?”
This lawsuit follows media reports and an internal investigation which revealed decades of alleged sexual misconduct at the Bishop’s School. According to the report, “To date, 14 alumni have come forward to report incidents of sexual misconduct…Ten different perpetrators were identified as having engaged in sexual misconduct that would potentially constitute a crime at the time of occurrence."
Attorney and victim’s advocate Vince Finaldi said, “This scandal-plagued school had every reason to be on guard given the long history of criminal sexual activity on their campus. Instead, they ignored all the warning signs and allowed a teacher to sexually molest, harass, and threaten our client for two years. The Bishop’s School is a prestigious institution which charges parents more than $37,000 per year in tuition. They advertise their affiliation with the Episcopal Dioceses as a way to assure parents of the moral rectitude of the school. Yet, they failed miserably in their most basic responsibility—keeping their students safe from sexual predators.”
Plaintiff John H. Doe said, “I have chosen to keep my name private, as is the right of every victim of child sexual assault in California. My message to other victims of abuse at the Bishop’s School is -- contact law enforcement. Hold your abuser accountable. Protect other children. Your privacy will be respected, and you will be believed."
Manly Stewart & Finaldi is the nation’s leading firm representing athletes in child sexual abuse cases against school districts, Universities, and Olympic Governing Bodies. They recently represented 180 alleged victims of former Olympic Team doctor Larry Nassar, resulting in a $500 million-dollar settlement against Michigan State University. In 2018, the firm settled cases against the Torrance Unified School District for $31 million on behalf of alleged victims of former wrestling coach and convicted child molester Thomas Snider, against Los Angeles Unified School district for $8 million in cases involving former football coach and convicted child molester Jamie Jimenez, and for $14 million in cases involving former Los Angeles Unified District employee Ronnie Lee Roman.
