Edhat Staff
A lawsuit was filed on September 20 against the Santa Barbara Unified School District, Santa Barbara Charter School and Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido alleging negligence in protecting minor students from sexual predators.
The legal action stems from previous filings claiming repeated sexual misconduct by coaches and teachers, and the recent discovery that Charter School teacher Steven Schapansky secretly recorded fifth and sixth graders undressing during school events over a six-year period. (Joan Doe, John Doe, Jane Doe, a minor, et. al. v. Santa Barbara Unified School District et. al., Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Case No. 24CV05242, September 20, 2024.)
Schapansky is charged with 70 counts of secretly recording children and two felony counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14. Schapansky failed to appear and face these charges at his criminal arraignment on September 13, 2024, and is still on the run from law enforcement.
“For years, the school district, Santa Barbara Charter School and the county school superintendent ignored sexual harassment accusations despite parents repeatedly voicing their concerns,” says Barry Cappello, managing partner of Cappello & Noël LLP, the Santa Barbara law firm representing the plaintiffs. “In short, they neglected to do what was needed to protect kids in their care from sexual predators.”
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order requiring a re-evaluation of safety plans, facility inspections and measures to prevent illegal recording of minors. They also request court-appointed monitoring to ensure the protections put in place to safeguard students are implemented, maintained and enforced.
“Permanent, court-ordered solutions are needed since our school district and county school superintendent have ignored this problem for years,” says Cappello.
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I have read and heard from many parents that this creep, Schapansky, was a widely loved and admired teacher and all this was such a surprise. Where there other allegations of abuse that were ignored about him or other pedophiles? If so, that’s awful. Then again, I imagine there are limits to what the District can legally do/investigate depending on the degree of evidence. Will be interesting to see what comes out of this.
Cappello is going for blood! Dude is a bit extra but really good at getting plaintiffs’ their money. I got a feeling a big $$$ settlement is the likely outcome.
Out for blood? Did I miss something…
“The plaintiffs are seeking a court order requiring a re-evaluation of safety plans, facility inspections and measures to prevent illegal recording of minors. They also request court-appointed monitoring to ensure the protections put in place to safeguard students are implemented, maintained and enforced.”
Reading a related article elsewhere. The charter school and district can respond with a plan if they choose or it will go to court where the attorneys would seek a judgement ordering them to make such a plan.
GOLETA – Yeah, I guess I could have read the complaint first. Looks like it’s not (yet) seeking punitive damages or anything. Good! I hope the District fixes whatever they might have overlooked.