CONCORD — In one of the final developments in a roller coaster child abuse case, the Mt. Diablo school district has tentatively agreed to pay $1.2 million to 11 boys who accused former Woodside Elementary teacher Joseph Martin of molesting them.
The settlement, which still needs school board approval, would bring to a close lawsuits filed two years ago against Martin, the school district and a number of its employees alleging they could have prevented Martin’s abuse by taking stronger action when they received warning signs. An attorney involved in the case and parents confirmed the settlement amount, which was reached July 18 and will be split among the boys.
“We are thankful that this chapter is over. Our children’s perpetrator is in prison and the district settled the case (however, not before revictimizing our children with a civil trial),” wrote Concord parent Tina Jones, whose two sons were plaintiffs in the lawsuits, in a text message. “This was never about money — as no amount of money equates to the impact of sexual abuse. Our quest was always about accountability. Our hopes are that MDUSD changes their training programs regarding mandated reporting, so that this vicious cycle of educator sexual abuse can end.”
Reached by email late Monday, an attorney for the school district said the district was not yet ready to comment until details of the settlement have been finalized.
In March, a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge declared a mistrial in the civil trial, saying jurors were hopelessly deadlocked after four days of deliberation in deciding whether MDUSD employees were liable. The second trial had been scheduled to begin Aug. 22.
It was not the first time a jury struggled with Martin’s case.
Martin’s first criminal trial ended in a mistrial with that jury hopelessly deadlocked and leaning heavily toward acquittal. In his second trial, the Martinez resident was convicted of molesting seven boys he taught at the Concord elementary school between 2007 and 2013. Martin is serving a 12-year sentence in a Central Valley prison and appealing his conviction.
In the civil trial, 11 boys alleged Martin fondled their nipples and one boy claimed he was damaged after witnessing the abuse. The civil jury only needed nine of 12 affirmative votes to find the workers failed to protect the boys, but could not reach a verdict.
At the center of the case was whether district officials had learned of earlier abuse allegations and did not take action before Martin abused more students. School employees are required by law to report any suspicion of child abuse to police or Child Protective Services.
A 2006 internal district report was the critical piece of evidence. It offered conflicting conclusions of Martin’s activities that school year, but investigator Mark Williams warned that “this report would not be honest and its conclusions not fully supported if I did not report that the circumstances surrounding these allegations did not at least suggest the subject matter of potential child abuse.” District officials did not report the findings to police.
The district spent $369,000 and two and a half years fighting the Bay Area News Group in court to keep that report hidden. It lost in appeals court.
Attorneys for the district, the plaintiffs and the MDUSD superintendent did not return requests for comment, including how much the district spent litigating the case.
“It is unfortunate that the school district wasted time and money on trying this case, funds they could have used to help the kids who were hurt heal and to insure that something like this never happens again,” Melanie Sakoda, East Bay director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, wrote in an email. “Even worse, they revictimized these boys by implying that they were lying about the abuse when they had enough information to know they were telling the truth. Shame on them!”
Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026. Follow him at Twitter.com/mgafni.
