CALIFORNIA
KRON
SAN RAMON (BCN) — A teen and his mother are seeking more than $25,000 in damages based on allegations in a lawsuit filed last week that a San Ramon school district and an Alamo church failed to deter child molestation by reporting it to police.
The lawsuit, filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court, names San Ramon Valley Unified School District and New Life Church as defendants. The plaintiff is a 16-year-old boy that was identified as one of three victims in a sexual abuse case.
The plaintiff was a victim in a case brought against Kevin Lopez, a former California High School head wrestling coach and a youth group program leader at New Life Church. Lopez, 28, was sentenced in February to 10 years, eight months in prison after pleading guilty to eight felony counts of lewd acts on children between the ages of 14 and 15 and other related charges.
And, the lawsuit alleges, the school district and the church might have known Lopez was engaging in this behavior with minors before police were alerted, but didn’t respond to it.
The lawsuit maintains that the district instead conducted its own investigation into a complaint that Lopez had potentially molested children, and made no further action.
It was a concerned parent’s accusation that while Lopez himself was a student at the school, he hosted parties with alcohol for middle school-aged children and may have inappropriately touched some of the minors.
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