How Can Parents Protect Children From Sexual Grooming?

In recent weeks, multiple area boarding schools have made headlines over decades-old allegations of widespread sexual abuse and misconduct. First, it was The Thacher School in Ojai, California.

In a Special Committee Report, school officials acknowledged allegations related to student sexual misconduct, harassment, and “boundary crossing” by faculty members dating back 40 years. In the report, the authors clarified that the term ‘sexual misconduct’ encompasses a “range of acts,” such as rape, sexual assault, and various forms of unwanted touching and sexual harassment.

Shortly after the Thacher report was revealed, similar allegations dating back over three decades surfaced at Cate School in Carpinteria, California.

Following a mandated reporter tip from outside the school, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a former employee over allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. Authorities stated they believe there may be additional survivors or witnesses that have yet to be located or contacted.

While Thacher and Cate are the latest scandals to emerge in Southern California, over the past year, sexual abuse in schools is a topic we’ve covered extensively on the DLG Blog.

In February, news surfaced confirming that The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California, faces over a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct dating back 30 years.

Here in Glendale, three separate incidents involving school/teacher sexual abuse have been reported recently:

• Brett Mohr, a teacher at Glendale Adventist Academy since 1998, was arrested and charged with multiple felony counts related to inappropriate conduct with students.
• In 2013, Valerie Jane Gonzales, a private vocal instructor at Glendale Adventist Academy, was sentenced to a year in county jail for allegedly engaging in lewd acts with a male high school student.
• In 2018, Jacqueline Nicole Muller, a teacher from Salem Lutheran School, was arrested for having unprotected sex on multiple occasions with an underage student.

Cases of teacher or coach sexual abuse are on the rise not just here in California but around the country. A recent study issued by the Education Department confirmed that reports of sexual violence in schools rose more than 50% between the 2015-2016 school year and the 2017-2018 school year. And in 2015, 3.5 million students in 8th-11th grade reported sexual contact with an adult.

According to the American Bar Association (ABA), many child sexual abuse cases are preceded by grooming. Through understanding sexual grooming and learning to identify such behaviors on the part of teachers, coaches, clergy, relatives, etc., parents can help protect their children from potential abuse.

Below we’ll review what sexual grooming entails, discuss how to identify the warning signs, and provide information on your family’s legal options in the event of an incident.