A California school failed to protect a 14-year-old student from grooming and sexual assault by a teacher, leaving her traumatized, her family claims in a new lawsuit.
Convicted sex offender Michelle Christine Solis, 46, was a teacher at Sycamore Middle School, where she had an illegal encounter with a student on graduation day.
new claims in the lawsuit; Obtained by Sacramento BeesUnder the guise of helping students with their homework, Solis organized social gatherings with students, gave them recess and lunch passes, and spent time alone with them.
Junior high school student.
Solis, a mother of two, “friended” the student on Instagram, quickly slid into his DMs and continued to chat for weeks before meeting for the first time, according to the complaint.
Then, on the day of the student's eighth-grade graduation, the student's teacher dragged her into the classroom, locked the door, and forced her to have sex with him. She then sent him a photo of their encounter with instructions to delete the communication, according to the Butte County District Attorney's Office.
After nude photos of the teacher were circulated in the small town of Gridley, 50 miles north of Sacramento, investigators searched the boy's cell phone and found messages with the teacher and two nude photos.
The lawsuit alleges that Gridley Unified School District failed to adequately monitor teacher behavior and failed to train other teachers to properly detect grooming behavior.
The lawsuit seeks “general damages and other non-economic relief” for the physical, mental and emotional injuries suffered by the students.
The boy's lawyer, Mark Boscovich, told local news outlets that the sexual offenses have had a lasting impact on him.
“He came back to the classroom, where he felt helpless and had no control over the situation,” Boskovic told the Bee.
Mr. Solis, who has been a teacher for 20 years, sentenced He was sentenced in July to four years in prison and must register as a sex offender. She is serving her sentence at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla.
If you have been sexually assaulted and live in New York, you can receive free and confidential crisis counseling by calling 1-800-942-6906. If you live out of state, dial the 24/7 National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
