Riverside Unified faces new lawsuit from 3 more alleged victims in sex abuse case

Attorneys have filed a second lawsuit against the Riverside Unified School District on behalf of three girls who allege they were sexually abused by Liberty Elementary School technology aide Fernando Figueroa over more than two years.

In addition to Figueroa and the district, the suit filed last week names as defendants former Liberty Elementary Principal Esther M. Garcia; Gary McGuire, the district’s director of pupil services;and teachers Tuesday Ramunni and Ashlea Infante. The complaint seeks unspecified damages.

Justin E. Grayson, a spokesman for the Riverside school district, declined to comment on the specifics of the suit because of pending litigation.

“We remain shocked and saddened that a part-time employee, who passed a Department of Justice background check, has cast a shadow on the Liberty Elementary School community and the Riverside Unified School District as a whole,” he said. “As an educational institution, we embrace our duty to keep kids safe each day, and we are committed to supporting all of our students, parents and staff members, including the victims and their families, as the process moves forward.”

Two of the victims listed in the latest lawsuit were 9 years old and the other was 10 when they were allegedly molested by Figueroa, 26, while attending Liberty Elementary from 2015 to 2017, according to the complaint.

In December, the Riverside school district agreed to pay $6.2 million to settle a separate lawsuit brought by three other girls and their parents who have accused Figueroa of sexual abuse.

The settlement in the Figueroa case is one of several sex abuse lawsuits against Inland Empire school districts and staff in recent years.

Since 2013, the Redlands Unified School District has paid out more than $30 million to settle sex abuse lawsuits filed by students who were abused, or alleged to have been abused, by their teachers.

The settlements follow an investigation by the Southern California News Group detailing the review of more than 2,000 pages of internal documents, reports and depositions along with 11 hours of recorded police interviews that attorneys say reveal a more than decade-long pattern of sex abuse cover-up by Redlands Unified.

Figueroa is accused of molesting a total of 11 students at Liberty Elementary.

In November, a grand jury indicted him on 25 felony counts, including lewd acts with a child under 14 and oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under 10. He being held in the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning and faces up to life in prison if convicted on all charges.

The latest lawsuit alleges the Riverside school district failed to monitor and supervise Figueroa, allowing him unfettered access to potential victims.

The suit also contends several victims, eyewitnesses and parents reported Figueroa’s alleged sexual misconduct to Liberty teachers and Garcia before or during the time Figueroa allegedly was abusing them.

Garcia and her staff also are accused of failing to take action and did not alert local authorities, as required by California’s mandatory child abuse reporting law, the complaint says.

The district also is accused of falsifying records showing Figueroa being supervised by a credentialed teacher when, in fact, he wasn’t, said Saul Wolf, a senior attorney with Manly, Stewart & Finaldi who is representing the victims.

The suit also alleges the Riverside school district failed to conduct an adequate background check of Figueroa, who had been accused of child sexual misconduct with a family member before the district hired him.

“During this new litigation we will be focusing on the upper echelon of Riverside Unified School District administrators, including the school board itself, to determine the causes of what appears to have been a broken and corrupt system of checks and balances which continues to threaten the safety of children throughout the district,” said Morgan Stewart, a partner with Manly, Stewart & Finaldi who handled the litigation against Redlands Unified.

Attorney Ronald Labriola of The Senators Firm, which is also representing the victims, added the lawsuit reflects an “epic failure” by the school district to protect children.

Riverside Unified and several of its employees have been reported to the state Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Education, the Riverside Police Department and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for allegedly falsifying records and child endangerment related to the case, said Morgan, who added that investigations are reportedly are ongoing.