Preliminary agreement reached in sexual assault case at private school in Flintridge

A tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against Flintridge Preparatory School by a woman who claims she was sexually abused by a teacher, but a judge said he wants to know the actual status of the settlement and when a motion to dismiss will be filed.

The plaintiff, now in her mid-20s, is identified only as Jane Doe in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against the school and former teacher Edward “Toby” Wagstaff. She is accused of sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, child sexual abuse, failure to report suspected child abuse, civil rights violations and negligence. In January, Judge Stephen P. Pfahler ordered a stay of the case so the parties could attend mediation.

On Tuesday, Doe’s lawyers filed court documents with Pfahler informing him of a “conditional” settlement in the case. A motion to dismiss is expected to be filed by Sept. 4. No terms were announced and the judge scheduled a status conference for Oct. 22.

A school representative had previously issued a statement regarding the lawsuit, saying the school became aware of “disturbing” allegations made by an alumnus against a former faculty member in February 2023.

When Flintridge Prep learned of the allegations, it placed the instructor on leave, contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and thoroughly investigated the case, after which the instructor was fired in April 2023, the statement said.

“While we have every reason to believe this is an isolated incident, we have encouraged all current and former students, faculty members, and any other members of our community to come forward and share their concerns,” the statement said. “The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority, and we are committed to doing everything we can to provide a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for everyone in our community.”

Famous graduates of Flintridge Preparatory School include attorney Mark Geragos and actors Harry Hamlin from “LA Law” and Haley Joel Osment from “The Sixth Sense,” as well as Bill Monning, the current majority leader of the California Senate.

Doe attended Flintridge Prep from 2012 until she graduated in 2016. Peter Bachmann was the school’s principal and was closely involved in daily school operations, curriculum development, school policies and ensuring student well-being, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 9.

Before 2012, there were numerous inappropriate relationships between students and teachers that Flintridge Prep and Bachmann knew about or should have known about, the lawsuit says.

“A reasonable and responsible high school would train its staff and students to recognize sexual abuse and to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate interactions between students and teachers,” the lawsuit states.

Wagstaff was a foreign language teacher. He was 31 when he began teaching at Flintridge Prep, and in 2013 he began sexually abusing and harassing Doe, according to the lawsuit. Wagstaff specifically sought individual attention from Doe while she was in his class, seeking meetings with her alone in his classroom and in common areas on campus to discuss her coursework and personal life, according to the lawsuit.

Before and after class, the two often participated in activities unrelated to Doe’s coursework, including crossword puzzles, the lawsuit says.

Wagstaff “praised her maturity in his written evaluations of her work as well as in private conversations with the plaintiff,” the lawsuit states, adding that he began to develop a closer personal relationship with her after her sophomore year.

“He gave her a long list of personally selected films to watch, many of them with adult themes or romantic themes,” the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Wagstaff and Doe exchanged 82 emails through their school accounts in September 2014. The lawsuit further alleges that during the plaintiff’s penultimate year of school, Wagstaff purchased and made several gifts for her and regularly brought her tea.

At Wagstaff’s urging, Doe skipped classes at times to visit him and talk about sexually explicit topics, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit also alleges that at one point Wagstaff told her he considered the two to be in a relationship.

In September 2015, when Doe was a 17-year-old high school senior, Wagstaff began “pushing the sexual boundaries of his relationship with the plaintiff” and began showing her sexually explicit films, the lawsuit says.

Doe “fled” the alleged relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing her to avoid Wagstaff’s advances and attention, the lawsuit says.

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