San Marino High Student Claims Teachers Failed To Report Rape Allegations

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Attorneys for a former San Marino High School student have filed a lawsuit alleging school officials were indifferent to her claim that she was raped by a fellow member of the campus debate team while they were in a relationship.

The lawsuit filed last week against the San Marino Unified School District in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges gender discrimination and seeks unspecified damages.

Starting in Oct. 2011, the plaintiff began dating her alleged assailant, who "forced (her) to have sex with him, against her will, on multiple occasions" by the following summer, according to the suit.

After the relationship ended in Nov. 2012, the student revealed what happened to a teacher in March 2013, the lawsuit states.

In response, the teacher said, "Honey, you were raped" and talked about the culture of rape and its occurrences on college campuses, according to the lawsuit.

While the teacher urged the plaintiff to discuss the alleged assault with her friends, she "advised that the police would not believe (her) and showed (her) articles supporting this position," the suit states.

The teacher also failed to inform administrators about the plaintiff's allegations despite the student's ask for help in doing so," according to the suit.

The lawsuit also states that the plaintiff informed several other teachers about the allegations, but none of them encouraged her to go to police.

According to the suit, the trauma from the alleged attacks caused the plaintiff to be late to classes or skip them altogether, and forced her to quit the debate team.

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