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Law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard announces that West Valley-Mission Community College District settles for $7.6 million with disabled rape victim

The West Valley- Mission Community College District will pay a disabled rape victim $7.6 million as a result of a lawsuit filed by the law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard.

The lawsuit filed in 2020 alleged that district officials failed to protect a now 26-year-old developmentally disabled woman from a known sexual predator.

Two alleged victims of former teachers Gary Bettencourt and Dusty Norris seek to hold the enablers of their predators accountable for their sexual abuse.

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a sexual abuse lawsuit in Merced County Superior Court alleging that former Merced County educators, Gary Bettencourt and Dusty Norris, sexually abused two young students.

Identified as Jane Doe 1 in the lawsuit, the complaint alleges that Norris abused her during the 2004-2005 school year. At the time Norris was employed by the Merced County of Education (MCOE) as an ROP teacher at Los Banos High School.

Sexual abuse victim was in second grade when she was sexually abused starting in 2006

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard has filed a sexual abuse lawsuit in Butte County Superior Court alleging the Thermalito Union Elementary School District was negligent for failing to protect an eight-year-old second grade student.

The student is identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit. She was abused between 2006-2009 at Poplar Avenue Elementary School in Thermalito, which is near Oroville.

A total of five victims now accuse former Sierramont Middle School teacher Ronald Gardner of sexual abuse.

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard filed an amended lawsuit this week in Santa Clara County Superior Court (Case No. 22CV401151) on behalf of another sexual abuse victim of Sierramont Middle School teacher Ronald Gardner. The victims in the case allege that the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose was negligent in failing to protect Sierramont Middle School students from sexual abuse.

The new victim is identified as John Doe 3 in the civil lawsuit.

In one of the largest civil jury verdicts in Santa Clara County history, the Union School District in San Jose has been ordered to pay $102.5 million to two young women who were sexually abused by former Dartmouth Middle School band director Samuel Neipp.

The school district has sought to overturn the verdict.

“It’s a high number but we’ve shown the court the verdict is justified,” attorney Lauren Cerri said. Ms. Cerri, from San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, represented one of the two women in the case.

A Marin County jury ruled that the Tamalpais Union High School District was 100 percent negligent for the 2003 sexual abuse of a then-high school student by its then PE teacher and tennis coach Normandie Burgos (Marin County Superior Court, Case# CIV2001133). It awarded the student $10 million.

The student, Alexander Harrison, is now 36 years old.

His lawsuit against the Tamalpais Union High School District was filed in March 2020 by the San Jose-based law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard under the auspices of AB 218, which extends the statute of limitations to allow older child sexual abuse cases to be filed through December 2022.

Teacher showed no remorse for abusing as many as 40 male students

When Dennis Thomas started teaching at Cinnabar Elementary School in San Jose, it wasn’t long before school officials became aware that he was befriending young boys and taking them to his home or to places like the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz.

One time he even took a student on a Mexican cruise and he often sexually abused students at school – making boys sit on his lap, and inappropriately rubbing and touching them.

Female tennis sensation Kylie McKenzie sues USTA for sexual harassment and assault committed by its coach

Federal lawsuit filed by San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich & Allard and Florida-based Normand PLLC 

ORLANDO, Fla., March 29, 2022 – A rising tennis star who was sexually assaulted by her coach has filed suit against the United States Tennis Association, claiming the organization and its player development affiliate failed to protect her from a known sexual abuser.

Sexual abuse, particularly child sexual abuse, is a plague upon our society that cuts across socio-economic lines, sexual identity, race and age. Its impacts are felt by individuals and families for generations.

When we hear stories about serial pedophiles like Michigan State coach Larry Nasser we wonder, “how did he get away with it for so long?”

One reason child sexual abusers get away with their crimes is because the abuse often goes unreported. The reasons for this vary and can include threatening victims and shaming them.

The day Allison Brown told police she had been sexually abused by her former basketball coach was life-changing for both her and Greg Marshall: he is now serving a 6-plus year sentence for repeatedly abusing Allison and she is working to recover from his abuse.

Allison was a student-athlete at Valley Christian High School in San Jose when Marshall began abusing her in the early 2000s.

In 2021, Allison hired Cerri, Boskovich & Allard to represent her in a sexual abuse lawsuit against Valley Christian, saying the school should have protected her from Marshall.

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