$5.75M Settlement Announced In San Jose Lawsuit Accusing Teacher Of Impregnating Student, Forcing Abortion

CBS Bay Area

December 24, 2025

A San Jose school district will pay $5.75 million to settle a lawsuit over the district's handling of allegations that a teacher impregnated a student decades ago, forced her to have an abortion, and continued to abuse her, her attorneys announced.

The lawsuit was filed in April 2024 against the Campbell Union High School District and Shawn Thomas, a former teacher at Leigh High School and a football and track coach at Los Gatos High School. Thomas was arrested in March 2024 after a woman alleged he sexually abused her between 2002 and 2003 when she was a 15-year-old student at Leigh. His arrest came after the survivor's sister urged her to come forward and report the abuse more than two decades later.

Attorneys for the survivor announced the settlement on Tuesday, saying "Leigh High School had every opportunity to prevent the abuse."

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