LAUSD to pay $88M in settlement over sex abuse lawsuits at 2 schools

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Unified School District is paying $88 million to sexual abuse victims at two elementary schools to settle lawsuits.

The settlement covers 30 sexual abuse claims against the LAUSD involving Paul Chapel III at TelFair Elementary School in Pacoima and Robert Pimentel at George De La Torre Elementary School in Wilmington.

In November 2015, a jury awarded $3 million to two young victims of sexual abuse at Telfair by Chapel.

Chapel is serving a 25-year prison term after pleading no contest in 2012 to molesting 13 boys over a four-and-a-half year period.

Pimentel is also serving a state prison term after pleading no contest to charges of lewd acts on a child.

According to attorneys, 18 De La Torre cases were settled for $58 million and 12 Telfair cases were settled for $30 million.

The plaintiffs claimed the school district endangered students by failing to investigate accusations of abuse.

"These historic settlements occurred because of overwhelming evidence that the district ignored warnings, employee reports and parent complaints that both of these horrible men were molesting dozens of children in the classroom," said John C. Manly, one of the victims' attorneys.

"He did things like put them on the table and touch their genitals and do all kinds of bizarre things," Manly said. "He had a whole routine."

The LAUSD released a statement following the settlement announcement saying the district has made changes to its policies and practices to better protect students.

"While we are proud of the steps we have taken, we will continue to work diligently with our parents and the community to provide the safest possible environment for our students to learn and succeed," said LAUSD Superintendent Michelle King in the statement.

The $88 million settlement is the second-largest in district history, according to the Los Angeles Times.

City News Service contributed to this report.