Parents to sue school and school district for negligence regarding Goleta teacher allegedly found with hidden recording devices and videos of children in changing rooms.

GOLETA, Calif. – Fifty four-year-old Steven Schapansky was a teacher at Santa Barbara Charter School.
 
He was arrested last month on suspicion of invasion of privacy with a recording device.
 
The parents of a secretly filmed child are suing Santa Barbara Charter School and Santa Barbara Unified School District for negligence. 
 
“Any time someone gets away with misconduct like this for a long period of time, it's because they know there's no supervision,” said attorney David Ring of Taylor & Ring Law Firm.

Ring is representing multiple families in this civil case, saying the lawsuit aims to get financial compensation for these kids.
 
“Can you imagine? You're, what, ten, 11, 12 years old? And you find out that your teacher filmed you in some state of not having clothes on because you were changing? That is that's outrageous. And that really impacts these young kids. It affects their ability to trust other teachers,” said Ring.
 
Families want to know how long the alleged filming had been going on and what could have been done to stop it.
  
“These parents are frustrated. They want answers. They want to know how this happened. And they're worried about, you know, what's going to happen with their kid. Because, again, where are these videotapes? What did Schapansky do with them? Are they floating around out there somewhere? Do other people have access to them?” said Ring.
 
Ring says by the time they complete their investigation, there will be a lot more coming out about Schapansky’s misconduct. 
 
Ximena Cristina Cullen, Director of Operations at Santa Barbara Charter School, filed petitions against Schapansky for a temporary restraining order and a workplace violence restraining order.
 
The court is scheduled to hear those petitions on Aug.12. 
 
Schapanksy has not been formally charged yet by the District Attorney's office.