San Diego, CA- A lawsuit has been filed by the family of a young girl who was allegedly sexually abused by a former employee of Diegueño Middle School. The lawsuit claims that school district officials were negligent in their duty to prevent such misconduct.
A 21-year-old campus supervisor at the school, Omar Hernandez Galeana, was arrested by deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Child Abuse Unit on March 25. The arrest came after the reported abuse of a 12-year-old eighth grader was brought to the attention of authorities.
At his arraignment, he entered a plea of not guilty to multiple charges related to the case. These charges include serious offenses such as engaging in inappropriate acts with a child and providing drugs to a minor, as well as lesser charges of influencing the behavior of a minor.
A lawsuit was recently filed in the county court, providing additional details about the reported incidents involving Galeana and the middle schooler.
Authorities reported that the campus supervisor allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior with a 12-year-old victim outside of school hours at an undisclosed off-campus location.
Law enforcement has not provided any further information, but according to a letter from San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) Superintendent Anne Staffieri, Galeana was employed for a brief period of three months and was terminated shortly after the incident.
However, as per the complaint, the reported sexual harassment and abuse started almost two months before the incident mentioned by the sheriff’s department.
The complaint claims that Galeana, who had regular contact with the 12-year-old as a campus supervisor at the middle school, started communicating with the young girl through text and WhatsApp messages in February, just a month after he started working there.
According to the complaint, these messages eventually resulted in off-campus interactions. On at least two occasions, the 21-year-old individual picked up the young girl from her home and took her to a nearby park and beach, where the molestation took place.
During one of these incidents, Galeana allegedly provided marijuana to the 12-year-old in order to incapacitate her before committing the sexual abuse, according to the lawsuit.
Although Galeana is involved in the lawsuit, the family of the middle schooler claims that SDUHSD officials neglected several warning signs that could have indicated his potential for inappropriate behavior with children.
As per the complaint, it has been alleged that the individual in question spent significant amounts of time alone with young children in isolated areas of the campus. The complaint also mentions the use of manipulative tactics to establish a close relationship with students, as well as frequent instances of driving students in their cars.
The lawsuit argues that the school failed to adequately supervise its faculty, which could have potentially prevented instances of sexual harassment and abuse.
Source: Fox-5 San Diego
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