A Kern County jury has responded with a verdict of $2.35 million in a lawsuit against the Kern High School District, a few district employees and a formerly 16-year-old high school student with the mental capacity of a 4-year-old.
The incident that sparked the civil action occurred on May 22, 2018 in a special education classroom at Centennial High School in northwest Bakersfield. That's when the teen, who was born with down syndrome, locked himself in a special education restroom inside the classroom with another boy, a 16-year-old autistic student — and allegedly attempted to kiss him and pull down his pants.
Opening statements began May 1 in Kern County Superior Court, with Judge Bernard C. Barmann Jr. presiding. The verdict was reached Thursday.
Veteran Bakersfield attorney Daniel Rodriguez, who represented the plaintiffs, spoke with The Californian about the verdict at his downtown Bakersfield offices Friday.
“This case boiled down to this question for the jurors to consider," Rodriguez said. "Can a school district ignore its own special education supervision safety guidelines — and hope to get away with it?"
What happened that day at Centennial was never really in dispute, although some details and the degree to which it harmed the then-16-year-old autistic student was at the center of the lawsuit.
Dominic Quiller, with the law offices of McCune & Harber in Los Angeles, represented the high school district and the other defendants. He could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.
The full names of the two teen boys were not disclosed in the lawsuit. The 16-year-old autistic student was referred to as Brandon, while the then-16-year-old boy with down syndrome was called Alex.
In his opening statement, Rodriguez told the jury what happened to Brandon was a "known risk," because Alex's uncontrolled behavior had already been fully documented, which is why Alex required a one-on-one classroom aide, dedicated to being in close proximity to Alex throughout the school day, keeping an eye on him and being on the spot should Alex become inappropriate or aggressive.
But the aide is due a lunch break and two shorter breaks through the day, Rodriguez said, and in this moment on this day, both sides agreed that the one-on-one aide had gone to lunch without having a substitute one-on-one aide there to fill in.
"Now let me tell you what happened," Rodriguez said to the jury.
At about 10:45 a.m., around the time of day Alex's aggressive behaviors tended to reach their peak, Brandon enters the restroom in a corner of the classroom, Rodriguez said, relating the story in present tense.
"He's standing in the bathroom washing his hands. Alex steps in, turns, and locks the door."
Suddenly, Alex is on Brandon, trying to kiss him on the lips.
"Stop! Stop! Get off me!" Brandon cries out.
Alex tries to pull Brandon's pants down, but they only slide down about an inch.
Alex tells him, "Be quiet," Rodriguez said. But Brandon, in what the attorney described as an "autistic flurry," continues to protest.
In the meantime, classroom employees are trying to gain entry.
"Nobody has a key," Rodriguez tells the jury.
Brandon's ordeal lasts two minutes, according to estimates from the adults in the room. Rodriguez thinks it may have been as long as three minutes.
He faults the district's training and accuses the adults involved of ignoring the rules. And he expresses astonishment that no one appeared to have a key to a locked bathroom in a classroom designed for special needs students.
"The school district not only failed Brandon, they failed Alex," Rodriguez told the jury that day.
But when Quiller had his chance with the jury, the defendants' attorney disputed Rodriguez's criticism of the level of training and professionalism possessed by the teachers, aides and administrators.
And Quiller pointed out what didn't happen in that locked bathroom.
There's was no bruising, no blood, no scratches, no torn clothing, he said.
The one-on-one aide was not there, he acknowledged. But there was no failure in the training of these special education professionals, he said. Not only are the employees well-trained, they properly followed their training guidelines. The absence of the one-on-one aide resulted from a lapse in communication, he said.
And there were other adults in the room.
"This incident was not a failure to train," he told the jury. Rather, it was a miscommunication.
At the end of the trial, he told the jury, he was going to ask jurors to give Brandon some money.
But Rodriguez said Friday the school district's insurance company started out before trial with an offer that did not reflect the value of what Brandon had lost.
Brandon had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He could not go to the bathroom at home without his dad standing at the door.
"The insurance company for the Kern High School District decided to play hardball," Rodriguez said. "They made a whopping offer of $200,000 for an autistic 16-year-old boy who had been diagnosed with PTSD as a result of this incident, PTSD that will be permanent and lifelong."
Now that it's over, Brandon's family, Rodriguez said, hopes that some good will come out of the verdict.
A wake-up call to the district.
Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC
