Bellingham School District settles lawsuit over failure to report sexual assaults on student
Bellingham schools have settled a lawsuit brought by a former Squalicum High School student who alleged that three district administrators failed to protect her from repeated sexual assaults, ending a 2-year-old case that came to light through Bellingham Herald reporting.
In a ruling issued Oct. 2, Judge Kymberly K. Evanson of the U.S. Western District Court of Washington at Seattle dismissed the case “with prejudice and without costs to any party,” according to court documents.
It came two months before a jury trial in the civil case was set to start Dec. 9, according to online court documents.
Bellingham Public Schools spokeswoman Dana Smith told The Herald in an email that the lawsuit was settled with the plaintiff.
“Bellingham Public Schools and the plaintiff have agreed to an amicable settlement that dismisses all claims alleged against the district in the lawsuit. The parties stipulate that neither party admits fault or liability for the claims in the lawsuit,” Smith said in an email.
Smith told The Herald that the settlement was “negotiated between the plaintiff and the district’s outside administrator of insurance claims” and the school board wasn’t required to vote on the agreement.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Kaiman of the Bellingham firm Victory Legal, wasn’t immediately available to comment.
No other details about the settlement were provided in court documents.
The case stems from incidents reported to Bellingham Police by a 16-year-old girl in 2022 that resulted in criminal charges against three school administrators for failure to report the alleged crimes.
Jeremy Gilbert Louzao, Maude Chimere Hackney and Meghan V. Dunham were each criminally cited Dec. 7, 2022, with one count of failure to report, a gross misdemeanor, in Whatcom County District Court. The charges were dismissed in a plea agreement.
At the time the criminal citations were issued, Louzao and Dunham were assistant principals at Squalicum High, and Hackney was an assistant principal at Bellingham High School.
They remain employed by the school district, according its website.
All three administrators are required by state law to report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child to law enforcement or to the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families.
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 4:46 PM.
