The Redlands Unified School District in Southern California has agreed to pay an additional $2.25 million to settle a lawsuit involving a teacher who became pregnant by one of the students she was accused of sexually abusing.
This agreement adds to the stunning $8.25 million that has already been distributed to Laura Whitehurst's victims since her arrest in 2013.
Redlands Unified Pays $2.25 Million
The unsettling incident started in 2016 when the school district agreed to pay $6 million to a former pupil who had an unplanned pregnancy while Whitehurst's teacher.
According to the plaintiff's lawyer, Morgan Stewart, the most current case was brought in 2021 by a different former pupil who claims that Whitehurst preyed upon and sexually assaulted him at Redlands High School in 2007 and 2008 when he was only 14 years old.
In 2013, Whitehurst confessed to the police that she had sex with the minor 10 to 15 times, both in her classroom and at her residence. Per Daily Mail, the accusations against her were based on this admission.
While confirming the recent settlement, Christine Stephens, a Redlands Unified School District representative, declined to speak further due to the case's confidentiality agreements.
Redlands Unified officials were accused of knowing about the illicit contact between the teacher and the student in the earlier lawsuit involving the student who fathered Whitehurst's kid but failed to inform the family. Due to this carelessness, Whitehurst gave birth in 2014 after dating the student for a year and meeting him when he was just 16 years old.
Former English teacher and soccer coach Laura Whitehurst admitted having illicit relations with three former students. She took a plea deal after initially being charged with 41 felonies and pleaded guilty to six of them.
She was given a six-month prison sentence and is currently listed as a sexual offender. The following year, the father of Whitehurst's child filed a lawsuit against the school district, claiming that the organization had "turned a blind eye" to her misbehavior.
Finaldi noted that the settlement reflected the severe harm done to the young victim and his family, calling attention to the school administration's "extreme malfeasance and neglect."
The district allegedly neglected to notify the student's parents when there was cause to suspect sexual abuse was occurring, according to the lawsuit. The student also claimed that Whitehurst pursued him before their connection and that she had promised him she was incapable of becoming pregnant.
Student Attends Daughter's Birth Amid Controversial Relationship
The student attended the birth of their daughter and shared custody of the child despite the unsettling circumstances.
Laura Whitehurst was detained once more earlier this month after the mother of the now-17-year-old boy reported their claimed year-long connection and the birth of their child to police.
The early public perception of Whitehurst as a "clean-cut American girl" contrasted sharply with her subsequent arrest and legal issues. Two more former students came forward after her imprisonment in 2013 to admit they had also had sex with Whitehurst.
Per ABC7, she told the detectives that after visiting Disneyland in 2012, she started having intercourse with the father of her child. This disturbing incident highlights the need for accountability and vigilance in educational settings to safeguard pupils from injury and teacher misconduct.
The sizeable settlements that were made in these lawsuits serve as a sharp reminder of the severe repercussions that occur when schools fail to act immediately and appropriately in cases of abuse and misconduct.
