Featured Articles

Sexual abuse survivor Stevie Gould empowered by suing USTA

Published on: November 11, 2021 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Sexual predator Normandie Burgos, a once well-respected Northern California tennis coach, is serving a 255-year prison sentence after being found guilty in May 2020 of 60 counts of child molestation.

Some of the charges involved Stevie Gould, who was a 13- year-old tennis player when Burgos began abusing him. The abuse went on for two years.

Stevie is largely responsible for putting Burgos in prison: he secretly recorded the tennis coach admitting to having sex with a child and turned the recording over to police.

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Sexual abuse lawsuit filed against Piedmont Hills High School

Published on: November 11, 2021 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Another victim of former Piedmont Hills High School track coach Chioke Robinson is coming forward with her story of sexual abuse.

In a newly filed amended lawsuit, Jane Doe 2 claims that Robinson began sexually grooming her in the 2009-2010 school year and that Robinson sexually abused her starting in the 2010-2011 school year and continuing through the 2011-2012 school year.

The lawsuit states that the abuse escalated from inappropriate massages to sexual intercourse.

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Sexual abuse lawsuit filed against Los Gatos Union School District

Published on: November 11, 2021 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Victim’s parents call for transparency, accountability and policies to keep students safe from sexual predators.

The Los Gatos Union School District and a former fifth grade teacher, Joseph Brian Houg, are being sued by the parents of a 10-year-old child who was sexually abused by Houg.

Due to the boy’s age and the sensitive nature of the allegations, the suit was filed anonymously on behalf of “John Doe.”

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Piedmont Hills Chioke Robinson Lawsuit

Published on: September 26, 2021 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Sexual abuse lawsuit targets East Side Union High School District

A new lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleges that former Piedmont Hills High School track coach Chioke Robinson repeatedly sexually abused a young female student both on and off school grounds.

The civil suit was filed on behalf of “Jane Doe,” who chooses to remain anonymous, by San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich & Allard.

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Settlement reached in sexual abuse cases against New Haven Unified School District

Published on: May 10, 2021 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

District pays $2.25 million to three girls sexually abused by teacher.

The New Haven Unified School District has agreed to pay $2.25 million to three young girls who were sexually abused by their third-grade teacher, Michael William Howey, when they were eight years old. Two of the girls, who were represented by the San Jose law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, will share equally in the settlement with the third girl, who was represented by another law firm.

The first complaint about Howey’s inappropriate behavior came during the 2002-2003 school year when he was teaching at Cesar Chavez Middle School but school officials ignored it.

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Childhood sexual abuse lawsuit filed against Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High school district

Published on: February 1, 2021 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

“My innocence was abruptly taken” – former Los Gatos High School track star

The first year of high school is always exciting, a sign that you’re almost a grown up who will soon be forging your own path in life.

That’s how sexual assault survivor “Jane Doe” felt when she joined the Los Gatos High School Girls’ Track team in 1998: the world was her oyster and her future was bright.

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Sex abuse lawsuit filed against Valley Christian High School and prominent coach Greg Marshall

Published on: February 1, 2021 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The lawsuit alleges that Valley Christian ignored Marshall’s predatory behavior towards female students, leading to the molestations of at least two female student-athletes.

San Jose, CA – Jan. 5, 2021 – The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is announcing the filing of a sexual abuse lawsuit against Valley Christian High School (Santa Clara County Superior Court) and its former coach, Greg Marshall.

The lawsuit alleges that Coach Marshall began sexually abusing girls on his varsity girls’ basketball team almost as soon as he was hired in the 2001-2002 school year.

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Ariana Kukors Smith Settlement Against USA Swimming

Published on: September 26, 2020 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The sexual abuse lawsuit brought forth by Olympian Ariana Kukors Smith has been resolved nearly two years after Mrs. Kukors Smith filed the action. The monetary settlement reached by USA Swimming’s insurance companies and Mrs. Kukors Smith will allow the 2012 Olympian to re-focus on the sport that she loves and to begin healing.

“I am glad that we were able to come to a resolution to this difficult process. As I begin the next chapter of my life, I hope that these last two years, along with the efforts of so many others, will help to provide athletes with a safer environment in which to compete,” Mrs. Kukors Smith said.

USA Swimming added the following: Throughout this process, Mrs. Kukors Smith has shown incredible strength and bravery and offered a powerful voice to all survivors. In sharing her story, Mrs. Kukors Smith thrust the very important subject matter of sexual abuse within youth serving organizations into focus and furthered important dialogue about the continued need for robust athlete protection policies and strong athlete and parent education.

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United States Tennis Association named in sexual abuse lawsuit

Published on: January 16, 2020 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Civil lawsuit filed on victim’s behalf by Robert Allard of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard

When “W.S.” met Coach Normandie Burgos he was just seven years old, a young boy who was good at tennis and wanted to get better.

There’s no disputing that Burgos wanted W.S. to become a great tennis player – he repeatedly told W.S.’s parents that he was a “champion.” But as the years passed, W.S. grew up and Coach Burgos began to want more.

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Back to school sexual abuse safety tips

Published on: August 21, 2019 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Record number of educators continue losing their teaching credential due to sex crime convictions, yet schools are not implementing proactive prevention training.

With the month of August signaling the start of another school year, the San Jose law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is urging parents and school officials to be aware of teachers who exhibit predatory “red flag” behavior, which almost always precedes the sexual abuse of a student.

“Sexual predators signal their intent to sexually abuse a student by slowly crossing the boundaries established to protect students,” said former San Jose police sergeant and sex crimes detective Mike Leininger. “The reality is that predators are not caught abusing children, but they can be caught breaking rules and crossing boundaries if educators and parents know what to look for.”

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