Santa Barbara Unified School District Found at Fault in $25M Lawsuit
Verdict Rendered Against District for Sexual Abuse and Grooming of Students by Former Employee and Football Coach
A Santa Barbara jury rendered a $25 million verdict in a civil suit against the Santa Barbara Unified School District on December 8, ruling after a three-week trial that the district was 80 percent at fault for the sexual abuse and grooming of a teenage student by former Dos Pueblos High School security guard and assistant football coach Justin Sell from 2008 to 2011.
The lawsuit was filed last March by law firm Taylor & Ring on behalf of the victim, identified in court documents only as John Doe #2, one of several victims that has accused Sell of sexual misconduct and the second victim to file a civil suit against the district.
According to court documents, Sell used his position as freshman football coach to “systematically and methodically groom” and sexually abuse at least three students. He was arrested and charged with multiple felonies in 2013. In the criminal case, he pleaded no contest to the felony charges and was sentenced to one year in county jail and five years of probation. He is currently still living and working in Santa Barbara and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
In the civil lawsuit, John Doe #2’s attorneys, John Taylor and Natalie Weatherford, argued that the school district was also at fault for the abuse, offering several examples to prove that district employees were aware of the problem but failed to properly report any issues.
These warning signs started as early as 2007, when school administrators reportedly met with Sell to address work problems, such as Sell “repeatedly having lunch with freshman boys rather than performing his employment duties.” At this point, the district did not document the misconduct or warning given to Sell.
A year later, Sell punched a student in the face on campus during the school day. Again, it was alleged that “multiple school employees were aware of the incident, yet it was not reported to law enforcement as was required by law.”
Over the next few years, Sell began to spend time alone with John Doe #2, and despite a history of assault and inappropriate contact with male students, the district promoted Sell to be a permanent employee as a campus safety assistant. In 2010, after the school’s head football coach reported Sell’s inappropriate behavior at least three times and after Sell refused to stop spending time with male students, Sell was let go from the football program but kept his on-campus security position.
In 2010 and 2011, district employees continued to notice Sell giving male students “special attention,” and although a student’s parents filed a formal complaint, the district still failed to report the behavior.
Sell was quietly transferred to work at Santa Barbara High School in the spring of 2011, but by the summer, the district agreed to allow him to resign from his security guard position in lieu of termination. Following his resignation, Sell was accused and formally charged in 2013 after two students came forward to report incidents of stalking and sexual abuse.
“The school district and its employees had multiple missed opportunities to get rid of a person they acknowledged was a problematic employee,” Taylor said. “They repeatedly chose to protect the employee over the safety of the kids.”
A Santa Barbara jury rendered the $25 million verdict in favor of the victim after a three-week trial, ruling that the district was 80 percent at fault for the grooming and sexual abuse carried out by Sell.
“The jury recognized the lifelong harm that childhood sexual abuse inflicts on its victims,” Weatherford said. “The verdict represents a step forward in the young life of the plaintiff and validation that the abuse was not his fault.”
In response to the verdict, the district’s chief of communications, Ed Zuchelli, said, “There is never an excuse for abhorrent behavior from an employee regarding a minor student. The school district deeply empathizes with any student who finds themselves in a vulnerable position in a school environment where children should feel safe.
“Although the conduct in this matter occurred more than a decade ago,” Zuchelli continued, “the school district has an ongoing commitment to strict standards of professional conduct, proper supervision of employees, and a variety of methods of reporting inappropriate behavior.“
The district also said that the verdict and legal expenses would be covered by the district’s insurance carrier and the payment would not impact its finances or affect the ongoing negotiations regarding teacher pay.
