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Questions over Delayed Conviction in Ventura County Sexual Abuse case

Ventura County school officials had raised concerns about a sexual abuse case where a child was abused by a school board member at least two years before the abuse perpetrator was finally charged for his crimes.

This week Brian Martin, a board member of the Rio School District in Ventura County in California, pleaded guilty to charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child, and child molestation. He also admitted to other allegations that included inflicting serious bodily injury on a child, and engaging in sexual conduct with a child. The abuse began in 2005, when the girl in question was 10 years old, and continued for five years. During this period of time, the girl got pregnant and had a baby.

Martin will be sentenced on the 17th of May. He is likely to face a sentence of up to 21 years in prison.

Meanwhile, questions are being raised about why it took so long to file charges against Martin. Officials at the Rio school district are coming forward to allege that they had attempted to bring the sexual abuse case of the child to the notice of Ventura County authorities several times. According to Superintendent Sherianne Cotterell, she submitted at least two reports to County authorities reporting suspected molestation of the child.

In all, employees of the District made at least six reports to County authorities to report the abuse. The reports were made between April of 2008 and December of 2009, and were based on actual statements made by the girl to different county employees, as well as statements made to at least four other students at the school.

What is shocking to California sexual abuse lawyers is how little action was taken against Martin even in spite of those reports. No efforts were made to prosecute Martin on the basis of those reports. According to Cotterell, at least one of the reports was ruled by county authorities to be unfounded. When County authorities interviewed the girl, she denied that she was being molested. The Rio School District Board President has now called for a complete investigation into the manner in which Ventura County authorities handled the reports of molestation and abuse.

Any California sexual abuse attorney would be very interested in the findings of that investigation. It seems that the girl was simply allowed to slip through the cracks, and she has paid a terrible price for it. The checks that should have prevented this from happening, haven’t worked as they should have.

As any sexual abuse lawyer will tell you, abuse victims in California can find the road to justice an uphill battle. It shouldn’t be this way. Children are the most vulnerable members of our society, and deserve complete protection. Ventura County authorities and law enforcement officials must spare no effort to find out why no action was taken in spite of the molestation reports filed by employees of the school district. Were these reports ignored because the alleged perpetrator was a member of the school district board?

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of sexual abuse. Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

Looking for a Ventura County Sexual Abuse Lawyer?

300 Esplanade Drive, Suite 900
Oxnard, CA 93030
(805) 367-3414
Contact@RobertReevesLaw.com

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