Timeline
November 2011: A California School for the Deaf-Riverside student reports that male students are having sex with each other. Some are suspended.
March 2012: A student reports that male students are having sex with each other. Some, including "John Roe," the alleged operator of the "sex club," are suspended.
October 2013: A boy, whose mother would later sue the state and the school, is allegedly forced to perform a sex act.
January 2014: The California Highway Patrol begins an investigation.
October 2014: The woman sues the state Department of Education and the school, alleging negligence.
November 2014: The CHP forwards its report to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office for consideration of charges.
July 2015: The lawsuit is updated to include allegations of the "sex club" and John Roe's actions.
Sept. 16: A case management conference is scheduled.
Source: Lawsuit, court records
A woman who says her son was victimized alleges that a student also bullied others into sex acts at California School for the Deaf.
A student roamed the campus day and night unsupervised for three years at California School for the Deaf-Riverside, forcing other students into oral and anal sex as part of a “sex club” the student controlled, according to an updated lawsuit filed by a woman who alleges that her son was victimized.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
It was unclear Thursday, Aug. 14, whether any criminal charges have been filed. The California Highway Patrol, which examines allegations of crime at state-operated schools, investigated the allegations and forwarded its report to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in November.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
DA’s spokesman John Hall said Thursday, Aug. 13, that his office would not comment because the case involves juveniles.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Regardless, the mother of a CSDR student is pressing ahead with her lawsuit against the state Department of Education and the school. The lawsuit – filed in October and amended twice, including last month – alleges negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery. It seeks unspecified damages.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The Press-Enterprise is not identifying the mother because it could serve to identify a possible victim of sexual assault, her son.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
CSDR serves about 400 hard-of-hearing boys and girls in kindergarten through 12th grade from Bakersfield to the Mexico border and is one of two such schools in the state. Some of the students live in cottages on campus during the week.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Tina Jung, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, emailed a statement Thursday that said: “When the CSDR became aware of these allegations, we immediately notified the appropriate authorities, including the CHP and Child Protective Services. In addition, we reviewed our policies and practices, conducted additional staff training, and implemented additional procedures that provide even more safeguards for students.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“The CSDR is deeply concerned by these allegations. We are doing everything in our power to maintain a safe learning environment for our students.”googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Jung said she would not describe the additional training or new procedures because of the pending lawsuit.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Scott Kerby, the school’s interim superintendent, did not return a phone message left Thursday seeking comment. The attorneys for the defendants and the plaintiffs also did not return phone messages.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The lawsuit’s second amended complaint, filed July 17, adds allegations of continuous and largely unchecked consensual and non-consensual sex among middle school boys at the school.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The lawsuit states that the boy running the sex club, identified as “John Roe” in the lawsuit, did so starting when he was in sixth grade in the 2011-12 school year and continuing through the 2013-14 school year.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Roe would make other male students perform sexual acts by bullying them, threatening to spread rumors or using force, the suit claims. The acts would allegedly occur in cottages early in the morning or late at night, or elsewhere during school activities.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
In November 2011 and March 2012, students reported these acts and suspensions were handed down, with the students allowed to return to campus afterward, the lawsuit says.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The woman suing the school said her son – identified as “John Doe” – was forced to perform sex acts on John Roe multiple times during the 2013-14 school year.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“During these acts, (the boy) was caused to sustain physical, mental and emotional injuries,” the lawsuit says.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The suit also alleges that the school failed to properly supervise its students and facilities even though officials knew about the sexual activity and John Roe’s actions.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“Defendants ... failed to provide supervision of the cottages, bedrooms, hallways and bathrooms on their campus, despite knowledge that multiple male students would conduct sexual activity when unsupervised, and despite specific and actual knowledge that John Roe has conducted such activities in the past,” the lawsuit says. “Defendants ... were negligent, reckless and careless in its lack of supervision of its students throughout the school year, (allowing) a ‘sex club’ to function on its campus for three school years.”