Former LA County students featured in “Predator’s Playground” claim they were sexually abused

Are you or someone you know a recent sexual assault survivor? Help is available. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) offers a 24-hour national sexual assault hotline available at 1-800-656-4673.

Rosemead High School graduates are suing the El Monte Union High School District for failing to protect them from teachers who allegedly abused, harassed and harassed them in the early 2000s.

“A terrible time in my life, inappropriate, hurtful,” says Jane Doe.

She says her social studies teacher groomed her during her senior year, justifying sexually inappropriate encounters by telling her she was useless as a woman about to turn 18.

“The teacher himself told me that no one would ever believe me and that I would be ruined if I told,” she said.

The law firm of attorney Luis Carrillo is representing the three women suing the school district. He says school administrators ignored students when they first reported the abuse in the early 2000s.

“It’s amazing how these administrators allowed these monsters to touch the girls for so many decades when they were very young,” laments Carrillo.

Matt Drange, a senior correspondent for Business Insider, spent months investigating allegations of sexual abuse at Rosemead High School. The title of his article, “A Predator’s Playground,” is disturbing.

“We have identified more than two dozen teachers at Rosemead High School who have sexually abused and harassed students for over 40 years,” Drange said.

Through his statement, Doe hopes to encourage other victims to report the abuse. She says, “I don’t want it to happen to anyone else.”

The El Monte Union School District has since issued the following statement in response to the allegations against its employees: