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Jul 13, 2022
A 22-year-old Fresno school teacher’s assistant was arrested for a misdemeanor act including sending sexual messages to a 12-year-old, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday.
Fresno School Employee Sent Sexually Explicit Messages to 12-Year-Old Student
Kevin Juarez, described as a “noontime assistant at Storey Elementary School,” was arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail. He was later released with a citation to appear in court after being accused of misdemeanor annoying or molesting a minor, according to the Fresno Bee.
Juarez worked on the Fresno Unified School District campus during the lunch hour to supervise children while teachers took their breaks, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said in the news release.
The release further noted that an unidentified individual reported that Juarez was having inappropriate conversations with a 12-year-old student. Detectives reportedly discovered that the teacher’s assistant had sent messages of a sexual nature to the girl through a social media app.
Anyone with information related to the ongoing investigation into Kevin Juarez is asked by the sheriff’s office to call Sergeant Ericka Rascon at 559-600-8144.
What is Child Sexual Abuse Under California Law?
Children are considered minors under California law. Accordingly, a child is never able to give consent, and any sexual act involving a minor is considered abuse. Under California law, childhood sexual abuse can entail:
Moreover, California law broadly defines child sexual assault as including any sexual act, such as:
- Rape
- Sodomy
- Incest
- Oral sex
Furthermore, the following actions constitute a sex crime under California law:
- Sexual penetration with objects, fingers, or genitals
- Contact between genitals or the mouth of one person and genitals of another
- Intentional touching of the genitals or intimate areas
- Masturbation in the presence of a child
Under California law, sexual exploitation of a child can also include depicting a minor in any of the aforementioned acts that are considered sexual assault. Any adult who promotes, uses, or coerces a child into participating in (or encouraging others to participate in) the following actions is committing sexual exploitation under California law:
- Nude modeling
- Prostitution
- Any kind of live sexual performance
In addition, the law explicitly forbids any adult from coercing a child’s guardian into allowing such sexual exploitation or assault.
How Common is Teacher Sexual Abuse in California Schools?
A study issued by the U.S. Education Department confirmed that reports of sexual violence in schools rose more than 50% between the 2015 and 2016 school year.
Dordulian Law Group’s (DLG) blog has featured a number of recent stories of local educators and coaches being either charged or convicted of sex crimes against children:
- In March 2022, a Costa Mesa teacher was charged with over a dozen felonies in relation to allegedly molesting two young girls.
- In late February 2022, two Rialto assistant principals from Carter High School were arrested for failing to report three separate sexual assault allegations made by female students against a male teenager.
- In February 2022, Michael Traurig, a San Mateo equestrian coach for youths and adults in Los Angeles, was arrested on suspicion of molesting a 13-year-old student.
- In January 2022, a former Mater Dei High School track and football coach was sued by an ex-student who alleged she was repeatedly raped as a 16-year-old at the prestigious Catholic school.
- In November 2021, a former Riverside teacher was charged with sexually abusing a child and ex-student over 20 years ago.
- In November 2021, a Riverside man was arrested in connection with numerous sexual assaults that were allegedly committed against students at Martin Luther King High School.
- In July 2021, numerous sexual abuse allegations at the prestigious Cate School prompted an investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
- In June 2021, Ojai’s Thacher School sexual abuse scandal made headlines, with reports of systemic sexual violence and potential cover-ups being investigated by local law enforcement officials. We posted a blog featuring first-hand anonymous accounts from Thacher School survivors.
- In May 2021, an Anaheim elementary school teacher was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography.
- In May 2021, an ex-Burbank schoolteacher received a 30-year sentence for child pornography of a former student.
- February 2021, a local Glendale teacher was arrested on allegations of molesting students.
- February 2021, a San Bernardino County principal was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a young girl.
- In July 2020, a former Orange County teacher pleaded guilty to one federal charge of production of child pornography and six state counts of lewd or lascivious acts with minors under 14 years of age.
California AB 218 and Justice for Childhood Sex Abuse
For California childhood sex crimes, the statute of limitations is temporarily paused under Assembly Bill 218 (AB 218). AB 218 took effect on January 1, 2020, effectively tolling (pausing) the statute of limitations on all childhood sex crimes through the end of 2022.
Accordingly, under AB 218, all survivors of childhood sexual abuse or assault may currently file civil claims seeking financial compensation until December 31, 2022. As of January 1, 2023, however, the standard statute of limitations will resume, and survivors who did not file claims will likely be left without any legal recourse.
Additionally, California AB 218 includes a treble damages clause which gives the courts latitude to triple financial damages awards in cases where a cover-up is proven. For example, if you are a sexual abuse survivor who was victimized through a systemic cover-up (at either an individual or institutional level), and that malfeasance was able to be proven in court, a $10 million damages award could theoretically be increased to $30 million under the AB 218 treble damages clause.
The treble damages clause was included in California AB 218 in an effort to severely punish bad actors who participated in systemic cover-ups.
For additional information on California AB 218 and how it offers survivors of childhood sexual abuse an unprecedented opportunity at justice, please visit our recent blog post.
Contact a Los Angeles, California, Teacher/School Sexual Abuse Lawyer
California childhood sexual abuse civil lawsuits may be brought in an effort to recover financial compensation for various types of losses. Depending on the circumstances of childhood sex crime, compensatory damages may be pursued and recovered through a civil claim.
Examples of some common damages that may be secured through a California childhood sexual assault or abuse civil claim include:
- Counseling or therapy expenses
- Emotional trauma
- Psychological distress
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Diminished quality of life
- Pain and suffering
- Hospital or medical expenses
DLG is a leading California-based school sexual assault firm representing survivors across the United States. We offer clients a unique type of legal representation which includes a four-tiered team of professionals known as the SAJE Team:
- Lead Litigator, Sam Dordulian, a former sex crimes prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County with more than 100 jury trial victories
- Chief Investigator, Moses Castillo, a retired LAPD detective who worked primarily in the elite Abused Child Unit handling some of the city’s most high-profile sex crime cases
- Two licensed and nationally accredited victim advocates
- An in-house licensed clinical therapist
DLG’s experienced childhood sexual abuse lawyers have helped countless survivors secure maximum financial damages awards. Some of our recent sexual assault civil lawsuit victories include:
If you experienced a sexual assault incident, don’t wait to file a claim. Contact our expert attorneys online or by phone for a free consultation today.
For a free and confidential consultation regarding your childhood sexual assault or abuse civil claim, contact a member of DLG’s SAJE Team today at 818-322-4056. Our sex crime attorneys have helped victims recover more than $100,000,000 in settlements and verdicts while maintaining a 98% success record.
There is never any fee for our expert childhood sexual abuse legal representation until we’ve successfully recovered a maximum financial damages award for your claim. If we don’t win, you don’t pay – it’s that simple.
Contact a DLG sexual abuse lawyer today to begin the process of securing justice for your school or teacher childhood sex crime claim.
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