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Formwe NLMUSD teacher Scott Waln was convicted in 2022.
September 25, 2024
Two victims are suing the Norwalk-La Mirada School District for allowing a former teacher to return after they reported sexual abuse.
The teacher, Scott Waln was eventually convicted of sexual abuse in 2022 and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
One of Waln’s victims, now 19, was sexually abused by him when she was in the sixth grade at Los Alisos Middle School when she was 11 years old.
Dominique Boubion, attorney with the Carrillo Law Firm who is bringing the suit against the NLMUSD on her two clients’ behalf, said Waln lured the now 19-year-old woman into his classroom when she was isolated and would have no way out.
“She gets into the classroom and the door closes behind her,” Boubion explained to KTLA. “She was sexually molested by Scott Waln. She reported it to the school. The police investigated and he was removed from campus. If you can believe it, he was let back on campus the following year and many more children were victimized as a result of that.”
The young woman said she wasn’t seen or heard by school officials and that Waln’s return to teaching, while she was still a student there, was traumatic.
“I had to constantly pass by him, constantly had to remember stuff, constantly had to be afraid,” she said.
The 19-year-old’s mother, who also requested anonymity, said no one believed her daughter, that there wasn’t enough evidence. Then it happens again to other students.
Waln was arrested in 2022 after another student accused him of sexual abuse.
“A few years later, we finally got the justice that I deserved,” the 19-year-old told KTLA. “I have to realize that I’m no longer that little girl I once was. I’m not happy anymore. I don’t trust anybody.”
The mother of a third former student, whose case Waln was not convicted of, is also a part of the lawsuit against the district.
She told KTLA that her daughter was touched by the teacher in 2021 when she was 11 years old and a student in his math and science classes. The mother said she immediately noticed a change in her daughter.
“My 11-year-old had the face of a ghost, no life in her whatsoever,” she said.
After her daughter told her what had happened, she pulled her from the class.
In a statement NLMUSD wrote, “As this matter is currently in litigation, the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School
District is unable to respond to specific inquiries about these allegations. The District also respects the desired anonymity of the plaintiff in this case. We do wish to confirm our unwavering commitment to the health and safety of our students. That commitment never has, and never will, change. We have a zero-tolerance policy for abuse or misconduct of any kind, and we are wholly dedicated to creating and maintaining a community of students and educators free from abuse and harassment. In this matter, we will continue to participate in the litigation process in good faith.
