Latest news with #Muñoz
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
California school district faces sex abuse lawsuit. Did LA's $4-billion payout open floodgates?
LOS ANGELES - Five California women sued a Fresno County school system Wednesday, alleging officials brushed aside claims they were being sexually assaulted by a second-grade teacher who was later convicted of similar abuse. The case against the Clovis Unified School District comes amid a tidal wave of sexual abuse litigation that has left lawmakers scrambling to stop misconduct - and schools struggling to pay settlements owed to victims suing over crimes that stretch back decades. The latest case dates back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. Plaintiff Samantha Muñoz, now a 28-year-old mother of two, is among those alleging she was abused by then-Fancher Creek Elementary School teacher Neng Yang. Muñoz claims in the lawsuit that Yang began molesting her in 2004, when she was his 7-year-old student. By that time, the lawsuit says, girls had been complaining to Clovis Unified School District officials about Yang for years. The teacher was eventually arrested for producing child pornography in 2012, and has spent the past decade in federal prison in San Pedro, where he is serving a 38-year term for sexual exploitation of a minor. "Clovis Unified was protecting this predator," said Muñoz. "They continued to have him teaching at that school knowing he was [assaulting students]." The Times does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, but Muñoz and two of her four co-plaintiffs said they wanted to speak out publicly about what happened. Kelly Avants, a spokeswoman for Clovis Unified, said the district had not yet received notice of the lawsuit. "We have not been served with the suit yet, but will review it when we are served and respond accordingly," Avants said. The public defender's office that represented Yang in his criminal case referred questions to federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of California. A spokesperson for that office said they could offer no comment. "When a teacher saw him showing me child pornography on his phone, school officials interrogated me and then encouraged me to say nothing," Muñoz said. "I was left in his classroom and he kept abusing me." The Fresno case follows a landmark $4-billion settlement this spring over sexual abuse in L.A. County's juvenile facilities, group and foster homes - believed to be the largest in U.S. history. On Tuesday, the state's largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, announced it would sell up to $500 million in bonds to help cover its anticipated sexual abuse liability. "There's tremendous cost pressures on school districts," said Michael Fine, head of California's Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, which published a report in January estimating state education agencies could be liable for $2 billion to $3 billion for past sexual misconduct. "No matter what, the money's coming out of their current resources." The payouts stem from a series of recent changes to California's statute of limitations for child sexual assault. Beginning with Assembly Bill 218 in 2019, the state opened a brief window for allegations going back as far as 1940. The law permanently extended the deadline for victims to file child sex abuse claims until age 40, or within five years of realizing a new illness or "psychological injury" as a result of abuse. "There are definitely school districts out there that feel the state changed the law so the state should pay," Fine said. Some in the debate argue only abusers - not cash-strapped schools - should be liable for misconduct. For most California school districts, the money is likely to come from a public entity risk pool, a collective pot that multiple agencies pay into to cover liabilities such as health insurance and workers' compensation. Many pools are assessing their members "retroactive premiums" in an attempt to cover sex abuse suits touched off by the change in the law, Fine said. That means even schools that haven't been sued face higher operating costs. "There's impacts to the classroom whether there's a claim or not, because they've got to pay the retroactive premiums somehow," he said. "If they were in the pool, they're on the hook." In its report, the agency recommended alternative ways the state and school districts might cover liabilities stemming from the law - including a modified form of receivership for agencies that can't pay, and a new state victim's compensation fund - as well as concrete steps to stem abuse. The latter have been enthusiastically adopted by California lawmakers, including state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Alhambra). But other suggestions have been ignored, Fine said. "There isn't a bill out there that carries the rest of our recommendations," he said. After months spent trying to understand the scale and the magnitude of the liability California institutions are facing, stories like those in the Clovis Unified suit haunt him, Fine said. "It's emotionally overwhelming," he said. Plaintiffs in the Clovis case described nearly identical abuse stretching back to 1998, when Yang was still a student teacher. According to Wednesday's complaint, then-second-grader Tiffany Thrailkill told the Francher Creek principal, vice principal and school counselor that Yang had groped her and forced her to perform oral sex. "In response, [officials] took the position that Tiffany was lying and referred her to psychological treatment," the suit alleged. Despite laws dating back to the 1980s that require abuse to be reported, school officials kept the allegations quiet and never investigated Yang, the suit said. "Instead of reporting Yang and protecting their students, it appears school officials blamed the girls, looked the other way, and enabled Yang to abuse their students for over a decade," said Jason Amala, the plaintiffs' attorney. Ultimately, Yang was caught by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a partnership between the Clovis Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. For Muñoz, the teacher's conviction was cold comfort. While she believes speaking out about her experience will inspire other victims to come forward, she now faces the agonizing decision of whether to send her nonverbal 4-year-old for early intervention services at the same elementary school where her suit alleges her nightmare began. "Why would I want to go drop off my son at a place that's nothing but bad memories?" the mother said. "It's like signing my life away to the devil again." "I just need them to be accountable for who they protected," Muñoz said. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
California school district faces sex abuse lawsuit. Did L.A.'s $4-billion payout open floodgates?
Five California women sued a Fresno County school system Wednesday, alleging officials brushed aside claims they were being sexually assaulted by a second-grade teacher who was later convicted of similar abuse. The case against the Clovis Unified School District comes amid a tidal wave of sexual abuse litigation that has left lawmakers scrambling to stop misconduct — and schools struggling to pay settlements owed to victims suing over crimes that stretch back decades. The latest case dates back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. Plaintiff Samantha Muñoz, now a 28-year-old mother of two, is among those alleging she was abused by then-Fancher Creek Elementary School teacher Neng Yang. Muñoz claims in the lawsuit that Yang began molesting her in 2004, when she was his 7-year-old student. By that time, the lawsuit says, girls had been complaining to Clovis Unified School District officials about Yang for years. The teacher was eventually arrested for producing child pornography in 2012, and has spent the past decade in federal prison in San Pedro, where he is serving a 38-year term for sexual exploitation of a minor. "Clovis Unified was protecting this predator," said Muñoz. "They continued to have him teaching at that school knowing he was [assaulting students]." The Times does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, but Muñoz and two of her four co-plaintiffs said they wanted to speak out publicly about what happened. Kelly Avants, a spokeswoman for Clovis Unified, said the district had not yet received notice of the lawsuit. "We have not been served with the suit yet, but will review it when we are served and respond accordingly," Avants said. The public defender's office that represented Yang in his criminal case referred questions to federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of California. A spokesperson for that office said they could offer no comment. "When a teacher saw him showing me child pornography on his phone, school officials interrogated me and then encouraged me to say nothing," Muñoz said. "I was left in his classroom and he kept abusing me." The Fresno case follows a landmark $4-billion settlement this spring over sexual abuse in L.A. County's juvenile facilities, group and foster homes — believed to be the largest in U.S. history. On Tuesday, the state's largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, announced it would sell up to $500 million in bonds to help cover its anticipated sexual abuse liability. "There's tremendous cost pressures on school districts," said Michael Fine, head of California's Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, which published a report in January estimating state education agencies could be liable for $2 billion to $3 billion for past sexual misconduct. "No matter what, the money's coming out of their current resources." The payouts stem from a series of recent changes to California's statute of limitations for child sexual assault. Beginning with Assembly Bill 218 in 2019, the state opened a brief window for allegations going back as far as 1940. The law permanently extended the deadline for victims to file child sex abuse claims until age 40, or within five years of realizing a new illness or "psychological injury" as a result of abuse. "There are definitely school districts out there that feel the state changed the law so the state should pay," Fine said. Some in the debate argue only abusers — not cash-strapped schools — should be liable for misconduct. For most California school districts, the money is likely to come from a public entity risk pool, a collective pot that multiple agencies pay into to cover liabilities such as health insurance and workers' compensation. Many pools are assessing their members "retroactive premiums" in an attempt to cover sex abuse suits touched off by the change in the law, Fine said. That means even schools that haven't been sued face higher operating costs. "There's impacts to the classroom whether there's a claim or not, because they've got to pay the retroactive premiums somehow," he said. "If they were in the pool, they're on the hook." In its report, the agency recommended alternative ways the state and school districts might cover liabilities stemming from the law — including a modified form of receivership for agencies that can't pay, and a new state victim's compensation fund — as well as concrete steps to stem abuse. The latter have been enthusiastically adopted by California lawmakers, including state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Alhambra). But other suggestions have been ignored, Fine said. "There isn't a bill out there that carries the rest of our recommendations," he said. After months spent trying to understand the scale and the magnitude of the liability California institutions are facing, stories like those in the Clovis Unified suit haunt him, Fine said. "It's emotionally overwhelming," he said. Plaintiffs in the Clovis case described nearly identical abuse stretching back to 1998, when Yang was still a student teacher. According to Wednesday's complaint, then-second-grader Tiffany Thrailkill told the Francher Creek principal, vice principal and school counselor that Yang had groped her and forced her to perform oral sex. "In response, [officials] took the position that Tiffany was lying and referred her to psychological treatment," the suit alleged. Despite laws dating back to the 1980s that require abuse to be reported, school officials kept the allegations quiet and never investigated Yang, the suit said. "Instead of reporting Yang and protecting their students, it appears school officials blamed the girls, looked the other way, and enabled Yang to abuse their students for over a decade,' said Jason Amala, the plaintiffs' attorney. Ultimately, Yang was caught by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a partnership between the Clovis Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. For Muñoz, the teacher's conviction was cold comfort. While she believes speaking out about her experience will inspire other victims to come forward, she now faces the agonizing decision of whether to send her nonverbal 4-year-old for early intervention services at the same elementary school where her suit alleges her nightmare began. "Why would I want to go drop off my son at a place that's nothing but bad memories?" the mother said. "It's like signing my life away to the devil again." "I just need them to be accountable for who they protected," Muñoz said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
California school district faces sex abuse lawsuit. Did L.A.'s $4-billion payout open floodgates?
Five California women sued a Fresno County school system Wednesday, alleging officials brushed aside claims they were being sexually assaulted by a second-grade teacher who was later convicted of similar abuse. The case against the Clovis Unified School District comes amid a tidal wave of sexual abuse litigation that has left lawmakers scrambling to stop misconduct — and schools struggling to pay settlements owed to victims suing over crimes that stretch back decades. The latest case dates back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. Plaintiff Samantha Muñoz, now a 28-year-old mother of two, is among those alleging she was abused by then-Fancher Creek Elementary School teacher Neng Yang. Muñoz claims in the lawsuit that Yang began molesting her in 2004, when she was his 7-year-old student. By that time, the lawsuit says, girls had been complaining to Clovis Unified School District officials about Yang for years. The teacher was eventually arrested for producing child pornography in 2012, and has spent the past decade in federal prison in San Pedro, where he is serving a 38-year term for sexual exploitation of a minor. 'Clovis Unified was protecting this predator,' said Muñoz. 'They continued to have him teaching at that school knowing he was [assaulting students].' The Times does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, but Muñoz and two of her four co-plaintiffs said they wanted to speak out publicly about what happened. Kelly Avants, a spokeswoman for Clovis Unified, said the district had not yet received notice of the lawsuit. 'We have not been served with the suit yet, but will review it when we are served and respond accordingly,' Avants said. The public defender's office that represented Yang in his criminal case referred questions to federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of California. A spokesperson for that office said they could offer no comment. 'When a teacher saw him showing me child pornography on his phone, school officials interrogated me and then encouraged me to say nothing,' Muñoz said. 'I was left in his classroom and he kept abusing me.' The Fresno case follows a landmark $4-billion settlement this spring over sexual abuse in L.A. County's juvenile facilities, group and foster homes — believed to be the largest in U.S. history. On Tuesday, the state's largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, announced it would sell up to $500 million in bonds to help cover its anticipated sexual abuse liability. 'There's tremendous cost pressures on school districts,' said Michael Fine, head of California's Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, which published a report in January estimating state education agencies could be liable for $2 billion to $3 billion for past sexual misconduct. 'No matter what, the money's coming out of their current resources.' The payouts stem from a series of recent changes to California's statute of limitations for child sexual assault. Beginning with Assembly Bill 218 in 2019, the state opened a brief window for allegations going back as far as 1940. The law permanently extended the deadline for victims to file child sex abuse claims until age 40, or within five years of realizing a new illness or 'psychological injury' as a result of abuse. 'There are definitely school districts out there that feel the state changed the law so the state should pay,' Fine said. Some in the debate argue only abusers — not cash-strapped schools — should be liable for misconduct. For most California school districts, the money is likely to come from a public entity risk pool, a collective pot that multiple agencies pay into to cover liabilities such as health insurance and workers' compensation. Many pools are assessing their members 'retroactive premiums' in an attempt to cover sex abuse suits touched off by the change in the law, Fine said. That means even schools that haven't been sued face higher operating costs. 'There's impacts to the classroom whether there's a claim or not, because they've got to pay the retroactive premiums somehow,' he said. 'If they were in the pool, they're on the hook.' In its report, the agency recommended alternative ways the state and school districts might cover liabilities stemming from the law — including a modified form of receivership for agencies that can't pay, and a new state victim's compensation fund — as well as concrete steps to stem abuse. The latter have been enthusiastically adopted by California lawmakers, including state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Alhambra). But other suggestions have been ignored, Fine said. 'There isn't a bill out there that carries the rest of our recommendations,' he said. After months spent trying to understand the scale and the magnitude of the liability California institutions are facing, stories like those in the Clovis Unified suit haunt him, Fine said. 'It's emotionally overwhelming,' he said. Plaintiffs in the Clovis case described nearly identical abuse stretching back to 1998, when Yang was still a student teacher. According to Wednesday's complaint, then-second-grader Tiffany Thrailkill told the Francher Creek principal, vice principal and school counselor that Yang had groped her and forced her to perform oral sex. 'In response, [officials] took the position that Tiffany was lying and referred her to psychological treatment,' the suit alleged. Despite laws dating back to the 1980s that require abuse to be reported, school officials kept the allegations quiet and never investigated Yang, the suit said. 'Instead of reporting Yang and protecting their students, it appears school officials blamed the girls, looked the other way, and enabled Yang to abuse their students for over a decade,' said Jason Amala, the plaintiffs' attorney. Ultimately, Yang was caught by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a partnership between the Clovis Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. For Muñoz, the teacher's conviction was cold comfort. While she believes speaking out about her experience will inspire other victims to come forward, she now faces the agonizing decision of whether to send her nonverbal 4-year-old for early intervention services at the same elementary school where her suit alleges her nightmare began. 'Why would I want to go drop off my son at a place that's nothing but bad memories?' the mother said. 'It's like signing my life away to the devil again.' 'I just need them to be accountable for who they protected,' Muñoz said.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Daily Record
UK holidaymakers in popular destination warned over £430 fines this summer
The area is tightening up rules over getting about the resort Tourists using electric scooters in Benidorm could now be hit with hefty fines following a major crackdown in the holiday hotspot. Benidorm is one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations with hundreds of thousands of British tourists visiting the seaside town each year. Spanish officials have now said they are tightening up rules around using electric scooters in the area and anyone found to be flouting new rules could be fined £427 (€500). This includes anyone using a scooter to deliver goods. Benidorm's Mobility councillor, Francis Muñoz said: "In general national and local laws prohibit transporting goods in vehicles which are not designed for that purpose." He added: "We have spotted increasing numbers of scooters breaking the law but over the next few weeks, users will be warned in an awareness campaign." According to Muñoz persistent offenders will be fined and that his priority was road safety. Benidorm's Policia Local have already begun monitoring the area to ensure riders are following the laws, reports Birmingham Live. Mobility Solutions Direct has issued fresh guidance, warning of the increased police scrutiny regarding the insurance of mobility scooter users. Lee Cartwright, an expert from the company, said: 'The resort is facing issues due to its popularity, particularly with the increasing complaints about mobility scooters. "Problems arise from people renting them just for fun. The local council has expressed a desire for these scooters to be used responsibly and only for genuine needs.' Mr Cartwright advised getting proper insurance to offer vital protection. He also says to avoid unnecessary use. 'If you can walk safely without one and you don't have a permit for one, it is best not to ride a mobility scooter to avoid a fine,' he added. The expert also said to adhere to the speed limits and to not carry another person on your mobility scooter, as they are strictly for sole use. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Around 20 scooters are subject to a daily spot check in addition to obvious law breakers being pulled over. Benidorm was recently branded 'The worst place on Earth' by some, despite the resort town attracting roughly 800,000 British holidaymakers annually. Indeed, for certain travellers, its title stems precisely because of the influx of Brits each year. YouTuber Ben Morris set off to Benidorm investigating whether its infamous notoriety is merited, pointing out that many attribute the resort's issues primarily to one thing: "Brits abroad." Ben observes that English is far more common than Spanish even in the scenic Old Town, stating: "Lots of people refer to Benidorm as 'Mini Britain,' with the British greatly surpassing the local population." He was taken aback by the sheer number of people thronging the streets, saying: "I knew that this was a popular holiday destination but I was really thrown off by how busy it actually was.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Anthony Muñoz in focus
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Anthony Muñoz in focus The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 77 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we take a look back at one of the greatest offensive linemen to ever play the game of football, Anthony Muñoz. Position: Offensive line Years played at USC: 1976-1979 Career highlights: Muñoz played at USC from 1976 through 1979. However, he unfortunately dealt with injuries throughout his USC career, and was forced to miss time in three of his four college seasons. Despite this, he was still named a second-team All-American and first-team All-Pac-10 as a junior in 1978. During the first game of his senior season in 1979, Muñoz suffered a knee injury that required surgery and was widely expected to end his season. However, Muñoz defied the odds returning in time for the Rose Bowl against Ohio State. The Trojans won, 17-16, with Heisman Trophy-winning running back Charles White leading the way, spoiling the Buckeyes bid for a perfect season and likely AP national championship. After USC: Sadly, Muñoz did not accomplish much after graduating from USC. All that he did—after being selected third overall in the 1980 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals—was play 13 professional seasons, be selected to 11 Pro Bowls, earn nine first-team All-Pro honors, and win the 1991 NFL Man of the Year (now known as the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year) award. So yeah, a very disappointing resume. Muñoz was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2019, he was named to the league's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. Muñoz is widely considered to be one of the greatest, if not the single greatest, offensive linemen of all-time.
