A Los Angeles County Superior Court awarded $35 million to a former high school student-athlete who said she was raped by her track coach in 1997.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the woman was one of eight in the last two years who have sued the Pomona Unified School District and a handful of men who coached at Pomona High School.
The woman, who is now in her 40s and was identified as Jane Doe No. 4, said she was raped by her former coach, Herman Hopson, in 1997 while at a school track meet in Nevada.
Others to have been sued include Brian Crichlow, now women's basketball coach at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut; Derrick Pugh; and one-time Ganesha High School girls’ basketball coach Vincent Spirlin.
The men's accusers include former cheerleaders, students and student-athletes. The victims allege that they were given alcohol, groomed, sexually assaulted and, in some cases, raped.
“It’s just nuts the number of the women who have filed claims against these men, these coaches,” said attorney John Taylor, of Manhattan Beach-based Taylor & Ring, who along with attorney Natalie Weatherford represents Jane Doe No. 4. “The most incredible thing throughout these trials is the courage of these women. It’s been brutal for them.”
Court documents obtained by the Times, say Hopson raped Jane Doe No. 4 in his hotel room. Doe No. 4 reported the rape to the school's principal, Gloria Russo, but Russo told her to "speak to no one about this" and that the administrator would "take care of it."
Jane Doe No. 4 said nothing came of her complaint, and she was then subjected to verbal abuse by other administrators, classmates and teammates.
“Former Pomona High students testified that the abuse was so rampant," attorney John Taylor said, "that ‘everyone on the campus knew’ that girls were being taken advantage of by coaches, yet nothing was done.”
As a result of the abuse, Jane Doe No. 4 moved out of the state at the end of the school year.
Pomona Unified Supt. Darren Knowles said in a statement that the district only became aware of the allegations from the 1990s in 2018.
“Upon receipt of this information, we immediately contacted law enforcement, and a full investigation was conducted,” he said. “Law enforcement decided to not prosecute.”
Jane Doe No. 4's verdict is the first financial settlement publicly disclosed. Jane Doe Nos. 1, 2 and 8 previously settled lawsuits with the district. Jane Doe No. 3 also settled on Jan. 16, according to Taylor.
The court cases for Jane Doe Nos. 5, 6 and 7 are still pending.
