Archdiocese of Los Angeles to pay $8 million to…
Archdiocese of Los Angeles to pay $8 million to settle sex abuse lawsuit
Ivan Barajas, a former San Gabriel Mission High School employee, gave a girl at the school special attention beginning in February 2016 and began adult-oriented conversations with her, the lawsuit alleges. The next month, he kissed her and his actions progressed to sex acts with the girl at various locations on campus, including his office during school hours, according to the complaint. (Courtesy of Los Angeles Police Department)
PUBLISHED: April 16, 2019 at 3:55 pm | UPDATED: April 16, 2019 at 4:16 pm
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of a then-teenage girl who was sexually abused and taken to Nevada by a high school athletic director, attorneys for the girl and her mother announced Tuesday, April 16.
Attorneys Dave Ring and Sonya Ostovar said the settlement is the largest ever paid by the archdiocese to a single sexual-assault victim.
The archdiocese issued a statement saying it "recognizes that there was serious harm done to the life of the victim-survivor. We hope that this settlement will allow her to heal and move forward with her education and lifetime goals. The archdiocese apologizes for the impact that this caused in her life, including the archbishop, who is scheduled to meet with her and her family later this spring."
The lawsuit alleged that the archdiocese previously had been warned about questionable behavior by Ivan Barajas, but he was allowed to continue working at San Gabriel Mission High School. Before Barajas allegedly began abusing the plaintiff, another coach at the school and a parent both expressed concern that he was having inappropriate relationships with underage female students, the suit states.
Despite having such knowledge, the archdiocese and the school administrators did not investigate the claims and allowed Barajas to continue working, according to the lawsuit.
When the lawsuit was filed in 2017, the archdiocese issued a statement denying the allegation, saying Barajas "was immediately suspended and later terminated when the school became aware of the matter."
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was a 15-year-old ninth-grader in the second semester of the 2015-16 school year and Barajas was her coach when the inappropriate interaction began.
Barajas gave the girl special attention beginning in February 2016 and began adult-oriented conversations with her, the suit alleges. The next month, he kissed her and his actions progressed to sex acts with the girl at various locations on campus, including his office during school hours, according to the complaint.
During the following summer, Barajas convinced the girl to meet him at the school under the guise of needing help with school matters, the suit says. Once there, he had sex with her in the library, faculty lounge and gym, according to the complaint.
In July 2016, Barajas took the girl to Nevada after finding out that his wife had discovered his relationship with the teen, the suit states. He was eventually arrested in Henderson, near Las Vegas, according to the complaint.
Barajas was prosecuted in Nevada and eventually pleaded guilty to statutory sexual seduction and was sentenced to three years in prison.
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