LAUSD drops lawyer who argued 14-year-old consented to sexual acts with teacher

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A lawyer who successfully argued that a 14-year-old student was at least partially to blame for having sex with her middle school teacher has been dropped by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The school district issued an apology and fired W. Keith Wyatt Friday afternoon. Wyatt represented the district in a civil lawsuit stemming from the actions of former Thomas Edison Middle School math teacher Elkis Hermida, who was convicted of molesting a 14-year-old female student in 2011.

Hermida had a six-month sexual relationship with the student. The student then sued the district alleging that administrators at the school failed to protect her.

During a KPCC radio show, Wyatt said that his defense was that the girl knew what she was doing and that she was partially to blame for her molestation.

"She lied to her mother so she could have an opportunity to have sex with her teacher. She went to a motel where she engaged in voluntary consensual sex with her teacher," Wyatt told KPCC. "Why shouldn't she be responsible for that?"

The jury ultimately ruled in favor of the LAUSD, but Wyatt's latest comments on KPCC radio have drawn outrage.

"It is shocking that, you know, the district would again take that position at trial and point the finger at the victim of sexual abuse," attorney Holly Boyer said.

Boyer is representing the victim in the appeals case. In the initial trial, the jury found that LAUSD was unaware of how Hermida abused children on- and off-campus.

What troubles Boyer and many child molestation lawyers, including attorney Anthony de Marco, is that a judge allowed Wyatt to blame the victim in court, too. Wyatt's case relied on a 2001 California Supreme Court decision.

"In some cases at least, a minor may be capable of giving legal consent to sexual relations," but de Marco says the statement was parenthetical, not a point in any decision.

"The Supreme Court was very concerned with making sure that it was clear the victims of childhood sexual abuse are just that," de Marco said. "They are the victims."

Wyatt has apologized for his comments. LAUSD also released the following statement: "Mr. Wyatt's comments yesterday were completely inappropriate, and they undermine the spirit of the environment we strive to offer our students every day," Dave Holmquist, general counsel for the school district, said in a statement. "Our deepest apologies go out to the young woman and her family, who were hurt by the insensitive remarks of Mr. Wyatt."

More than the remarks, de Marco says it's their defense position that is alarming.

"They should put out a statement condemning this wrongheaded view," de Marco said.

The appeal is in its very early stages. In a statement released Friday night, the victim's attorneys said they are looking forward to a new jury hearing the case without "the distraction" of LAUSD's defense of "blaming the victim."

An LAUSD spokesman told Eyewitness News it will proceed, arguing that the district is not liable for the middle school student's molestation. There's no word yet on whether it will abandon that legal point, blaming the student for the teacher's illegal acts.