School district to pay millions after student was raped, forced into abortion

A San Jose, California school district has agreed to a $5.75 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that a former teacher sexually abused and impregnated a student, forced her to get an abortion, and then continued to abuse her.

Key Takeaways:

• Campbell Union High School District has agreed to a settlement after a lawsuit by a former student alleged that she was raped by her high school teacher, Shawn Thomas.

• Thomas allegedly forced the student to have an abortion.

• Shawn Thomas's wife, Sarah Thomas, was the high school's dean and reportedly knew about the abuse.

• The lawsuit contends that the school, Leigh High School, did not do enough to protect the student.

• Shawn Thomas was arrested last year, and his criminal trial is scheduled to begin in February.

The Details:

The Campbell Union High School District has agreed to pay a hefty settlement after a lawsuit was filed by a former student. The student alleged that she was sexually abused by Shawn Thomas, a teacher at Leigh High School, in 2002 and 2003.

The lawsuit, filed in March 2024, claims that Thomas repeatedly raped the student and also forced her to have an abortion. Thomas' wife, Sarah Thomas, worked as dean of Leigh High School, yet failed to take action when the victim reported the crime to her. As Live Action News previously reported:

According to the lawsuit, Thomas groomed the student when she was a 15-year-old freshman before repeatedly raping her. Thomas’ wife, Sarah, allegedly walked in on the abuse once but failed to report the rape. After the victim got pregnant, she was coerced to have an abortion, but she then confided in Sarah Thomas about the abuse — only for Sarah to blame the young teen, asking how the student could “do this to her.”

No one reported the abuse to police or took any action to protect the victim from Thomas.

Attorney Lauren Cerri previously explained that Thomas forced his victim to have an abortion when she was 16 weeks pregnant — a common practice of sexual abusers and an action which left lasting ramifications.

“He impregnated her, forced her to have an abortion,” she said. “It was so difficult for her to have to do that and make that decision at such a young age. But he insisted on it, to the point she had it at 16 weeks.”

Zoom In:

The lawsuit claimed that the Campbell Union High School District, which includes Leigh High, did not do enough to protect the student from this abuser.

“Leigh High School had every opportunity to prevent the abuse,” Cerri said in a statement. “There were red flags everywhere that Shawn Thomas was a sexual predator. Even worse, a direct report was made by my client and completely ignored.”

Thomas was arrested in March of 2024; his criminal trial is scheduled to begin in February.

Cerri said that the settlement is a step toward acknowledging that students need to be protected from predators.

“This settlement represents some measure of justice for this woman after years of suffering in silence,” Cerri added. “We hope this case sends a clear message that schools must take their duty to safeguard students seriously.”

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The Bottom Line:

"This settlement is one more step toward my sister reclaiming her life after the immense harm she endured," the sister of the victim said. "While nothing can undo what happened, we are grateful that the district is finally being held accountable for its failures. Our hope is that this moment not only helps my sister move forward, but also ensures that no other student is ever ignored or unprotected in the way she was."