Lucia Mar Unified School District pays $10 million to settle case involving child molestation
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – After four years of litigation, the Lucia Mar Unified School District paid a record of $10 million to settle a lawsuit on behalf of a then nine-year-old special needs girl who was repeatedly sexually abused by the district's bus driver.
David Lamb, the district's bus driver, sexually abused the girl multiple times over the course of several months in 2017, according to Attorney David Ring of Taylor & Ring in Los Angeles. He pled guilty to sexual abuse in 2019 and was sentenced to 16 years in prison, but the civil case for negligence against the district was formally resolved on May 20, Ring said.
The case was on the verge of trial when the two parties reached the settlement agreement – which is believed to be the largest individual settlement paid to a sexual abuse victim in the state of California.
“The district failed to protect this vulnerable young girl from its predator bus driver who should never have been hired in the first instance because of his criminal record,” said Ring. “Once hired, the district failed to properly supervise him even after receiving complaints about his suspicious behavior while driving the bus.”
Lamb had a prior conviction for a "peeping Tom" charge and did not disclose that to the district in his initial employment application, according to Ring. When the district learned of the conviction, it informed Lamb that he was automatically disqualified from working at the district.
However, Lamb was hired as a bus driver just three months later, Ring said.
He was assigned to drive the then nine-year-old 20 minutes from her house to school, a trip where she was the only student on the bus.
Ring alleges that Lamb would routinely pull off the road and park in a hidden area, sexually abuse the girl, and threaten her not to tell.
When the girl's guardians found out about Lamb's behavior, they complained to district officials. The district's transportation supervisor reportedly had a bus surveillance video that showed one of the recent molestation incidents, but Ring said that the supervisor never watched the entire tape and claimed "she saw nothing unusual" on it.
Lamb only stopped the molestation when the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office became involved, obtained the videotape, and immediately arrested him.
In a statement to News Channel 3-12, the school district said that it is deeply saddened that the young girl endured such abuse.
"His behavior violated our trust and our student safety protocols. We do not tolerate abuse and we condemn the actions of David Lamb," said a district spokesperson.
"We are hopeful that after five years, both the settlement and the conviction foster the healing process for the victim and our schools. This incident has prompted us to reexamine our safety standards, reporting procedures, and staff training to prevent this type of unacceptable, egregious behavior from happening again."
