California school district settles sex abuse lawsuits for $13 million

Apr 19, 2022, 5:57 PM | Updated: Jun 13, 2022, 3:35 pm

The Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse where the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell is being held on Nov. 29, 2021, in New York City. Maxwell, the daughter of late media mogul Robert Maxwell is on trial for sex trafficking. Maxwell is expected to challenge claims she groomed underage girls for deceased and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein for sexual abuse. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

(Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California school district has agreed to pay $13.75 million to settle civil lawsuits over a worker who admitted molesting elementary school students.

The agreement was announced Tuesday by attorneys for 10 former students from Liberty Elementary School in Riverside.

The suits said the Riverside Unified School District ignored or covered up sex abuse allegations against Fernando Figueroa, a technology aide.

Figueroa was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to lewd and lascivious acts involving 11 victims between 2014 and 2017.

The children were molested when they were between 7 and 11 years old, according to Tuesday’s statement from the law firm Manly, Stewart and Finaldi.

School district officials didn’t immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment on the settlement.

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Alex Veiga, The Associated Press

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