Assault Victims Of Former Hemet Math Teacher Sue School District

HEMET, CA — Eight young women who say they were sexually harassed and inappropriately touched by a former Hemet High School teacher ultimately convicted of felony charges are suing the Hemet Unified School District for what they say was a failure by administrators to protect them from the defendant.

The suit, filed Friday in Riverside County Superior Court, stems from the alleged actions of 33-year-old Miguel Angel Chavez Lopez of Riverside between 2016 and 2018, while he was employed as a mathematics instructor at the high school.

Lopez, who is also a named defendant in the civil complaint, was arrested in August 2018 following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation. He pleaded guilty six months later to oral copulation of a minor and penetration of a minor with a foreign object and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison.

Most of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit came forward after the criminal case was settled.

They're listed only by their initials -- "B.B.," "B.K.," "G.S.," "K.M.," "N.M.," "V.N.," "V.R." and "W.N." According to the suit, they're all now in their early to mid-20s and reside in Riverside, Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

"Miguel Chavez groomed and primed the plaintiffs and other students for abuse by openly complimenting their appearances, keeping them in his classroom during break periods, lunches and after-school hours, massaging their shoulders and brushing his body against theirs," the suit alleges.

Hemet Unified School District officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The suit, which seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, alleges that Lopez had been investigated for inappropriate contact while employed at Ranch Mirage High School in 2015, yet was still hired by Hemet Unified the following year.

"Chavez had a documented history of misconduct before his abuse of the plaintiffs," court papers allege. "He was investigated for inappropriate behavior at Rancho Mirage High. Additionally, there were multiple `red flags' regarding Chavez's behavior that alerted, or should have alerted, HUSD and Hemet High to Chavez's ... sexual abuse of children."

The attorneys said that instead of administrators and Chavez's supervisors taking steps to protect the plaintiffs, the defendant was allowed to "prey upon ... and victimize children."

It was unclear why the plaintiffs did not formally accuse Chavez in 2018. Most of them were not named as victims in the original criminal complaint.

The suit alleges that HUSD and high school staff overseeing the defendant "knew or should have known or suspected that Chavez was acting inappropriately with the plaintiffs and other students ... engaging in childhood sexual abuse."

The attorneys wrote that the school district had "received prior complaints and warnings from students and parents regarding Chavez's improper behavior," but staff did not address the matter.

No court dates have been set yet in the civil action.