Los Angeles

Sex Assault Victims Of 2 LAUSD Coaches Reach $22M Settlement With District

August 29, 2018 / 11:18 AM PDT / CBS LA

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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Several purported child sexual assault victims of two former Los Angeles Unified School District coaches have reached a $22 million settlement with the district.

Nine alleged victims of 45-year-old Ronnie Lee Roman and seven alleged victims of 49-year-old Jaime Jimenez reached the $22 million settlement, attorneys announced Wednesday.

In August of last year, Roman was sentenced to 105 years in prison after being found guilty of molesting seven girls, ages 8 to 11, while an LAUSD employee. The abuse, which dated as far back as 2002, happened while Roman worked as a coach at Cahuenga Elementary and Vine Elementary schools.

In January of 2017, Jimenez, a longtime volunteer football coach at Franklin High School in Highland Park, was sentenced to more than 36 years in prison for sexually assaulting five boys.

Jimenez had coached at Franklin High since 1998. All of the incidents occurred between August 2002 and December 2014. The D.A. said one occurred on school grounds.

"These horrific cases provide two more sickening examples of LAUSD's continuing failure to protect children under its care," plaintiffs' attorney Morgan Stewart said.

Under the terms of the deal, $14 million will go to Roman's victims and $8 million will go to Jimenez's victims.

"While we cannot comment on legal matters that are still being resolved, student safety is always of utmost concern, and we have made changes in our policies and practices to strengthen the protections for our students," LAUSD spokeswoman Barbara Jones said in a statement. "While we have made much progress, we will continue to work diligently with our parents and the community to provide the safest possible environment for our students to learn and succeed."