Fresno attorney Warren Paboojian has accused the staff members of Fresno High about having knowledge regarding English teacher Darren Klassen’s illicit sexual affair with an underage student.
The victim, identified as L.P., was engaged in sexual abuse and molestation for over two years with Klassen. The affair was said to have started in January 2013 up until Klassen’s arrest in September 2015, after the parents of L.P. notified the Fresno Police Department.
Klassen pleaded no contest to five felony counts of unlawful sex with a minor in April, agreeing to register as a sex offender after spending five years and eight months in prison.
The lawsuit against the District claims that staff members were aware of the inappropriate relationship and that they noticed Klassen and the minor spending a lot of time with one another in the classroom, in some instances with the door locked and lights off.
Students at Fresno High were said to have informed staff members about seeing Klassen and L.P. holding hands and kissing while on campus, yet no action or investigation preceded the reports.
L.P.’s attorney, Paboojian, has said, “the staff and administration had all the warnings that would cause a reasonable person to comply with their mandated reporting requirements.”
A spokesperson for Fresno Unified has stated that the District has not been served with the lawsuit and no comments will be made on pending litigation.
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