The Fontana Unified School District reached a $14 million settlement on behalf of four victims of former teacher Garry Lee Gorgei, Sr., who brought the complaints against the district.
The lawsuits alleged that within months of being hired by the district in 1996, Georgi, Sr. was already sexually abusing minor female students at Southridge Middle School. Georgi, Sr. is alleged to have abused more than five minors during his time as a teacher and employee of Southridge Middle School and Fontana High School.
The four victims in this case were students at Southridge Middle School at the time of their abuse, which is alleged to have occurred between 1988 and 1999.
It is alleged that school administrators and officials received numerous complaints of Georgi, Sr’s., sexually inappropriate behavior with his female students, including, but not limited to, driving them off-campus in his personal vehicle during lunchtime and kissing a female student by her ear. It is also alleged that Principal Linzey chose to move Georgi, Sr. within the school district upon an investigation and report of sexual misconduct, in a concerted effort to hide his sexual crimes against minors, a practice known as “passing the trash.”
In 2021, police arrested Gorgei, Sr. for multiple counts of child molestation of victims under 14 years old. He was charged with 25 felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with child which include the plaintiffs in these lawsuits. The charges relate to abuse taking place as far back as 1988. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence in San Quentin State Prison.
Manly, Stewart & Finaldi represented the four victims in this case.
