A lawsuit filed September 20 against the Santa Barbara Unified School District, Santa Barbara Charter School and Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido alleges negligence in protecting minor students from sexual predators.
The legal action stems from previous filings claiming repeated sexual misconduct by coaches and teachers, and the recent discovery that Charter School teacher Steven Schapansky secretly recorded fifth and sixth graders undressing during school events over a six-year period. (Joan Doe, John Doe, Jane Doe, a minor, et. al. v. Santa Barbara Unified School District et. al., Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Case No. 24CV05242, September 20, 2024.)
Schapansky is charged with 70 counts of secretly recording children and two felony counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14. Schapansky failed to appear and face these charges at his criminal arraignment on September 13, 2024, and is still on the run from law enforcement.
The case alleges that the defendants failed to uphold their statutory legal duty to regularly monitor and inspect public school campuses and comply with the legal requirements for school safety including policies on sexual harassment, and to institute and maintain procedures to protect minor children from criminal activity.
“For years, the school district, Santa Barbara Charter School and the county school superintendent ignored sexual harassment accusations despite parents repeatedly voicing their concerns,” says Barry Cappello, managing partner of Cappello & Noël LLP, the Santa Barbara law firm representing the plaintiffs. “In short, they neglected to do what was needed to protect kids in their care from sexual predators.”
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order requiring a re-evaluation of safety plans, facility inspections and measures to prevent illegal recording of minors. They also request court-appointed monitoring to ensure the protections put in place to safeguard students are implemented, maintained and enforced.
“Permanent, court-ordered solutions are needed since our school district and county school superintendent have ignored this problem for years,” says Cappello.
