$5.75 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Accusing Leigh High School Teacher of Impregnating 15-Year-Old Student, Forcing Abortion

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is announcing a $5.75 million settlement with the Campbell Union High School District. The lawsuit claimed that the district failed to protect a fifteen-year-old Leigh High School student from teacher Shawn Thomas, who impregnated and forced her to have an abortion in 2003.

Thomas was arrested last year after the former student, at the urging of her sister, disclosed to law enforcement that he raped her while she was a student at the school.

According the survivor’s sister, “this settlement is one more step toward my sister reclaiming her life after the immense harm she endured. While nothing can undo what happened, we are grateful that the district is finally being held accountable for its failures. Our hope is that this moment not only helps my sister move forward, but also ensures that no other student is ever ignored or unprotected in the way she was.”

The survivor, named Jane Doe in the lawsuit, began the 2002-2003 school year as a freshman at Leigh High School. Thomas was one of her teachers. Thomas, the lawsuit states, allegedly began grooming her for his sexual advances, and sexually assaulting her numerous times including on school grounds in his portable classroom and in a storage room within the boys’ locker room and impregnated her at age 15.

On one occasion while Thomas was engaging in sexual intercourse with the student in his portable classroom, Thomas’s wife Sarah, the Dean of Leigh High School at the time, discovered the victim alone with her husband in his classroom after the two abruptly stopped having sex because they saw her approaching, it is alleged in the lawsuit.

In or around the Spring of 2003, the lawsuit claims that Thomas insisted that Jane Doe have an abortion, which she did, after he had impregnated her.

After becoming pregnant, Jane Doe allegedly disclosed to Sarah Thomas that Shawn Thomas had sexual intercourse with her. According to the lawsuit, Thomas’s wife allegedly responded by blaming the victim, asking the young student how she could do this to her after all she had done for her.

Shawn Thomas, according to the lawsuit, continued sexually assaulting the victim on school grounds, including engaging in sexual intercourse with her in a storage room within the boys’ locker room.

“Leigh High School had every opportunity to prevent the abuse,” attorney Lauren Cerri said. “There were red flags everywhere that Shawn Thomas was a sexual predator. Even worse, a direct report was made by my client and completely ignored.”

“This settlement represents some measure of justice for this woman after years of suffering in silence,” Cerri added. “We hope this case sends a clear message that schools must take their duty to safeguard students seriously.”

At the time of his arrest, Shawn Thomas was a teacher at Leigh High and also a football coach and a track and field coach at Los Gatos High School.