According to The Patch, a Westland Hialeah Senior High School reading teacher faces charges for sexually abusing a student.
Jeanette Barbara Valle-Tejeda, 41-years-old, allegedly sexually molested the victim over four years. The victim reported to police the abuse started when she was 14 and enrolled at Henry H. Filer Middle School and continued throughout her attendance at Westland Hialeah Senior High School until she was 18-years-old.
Valle-Tejeda was booked on Saturday and faces over two dozen charges of sexual battery on a minor, reported The Patch.
Attorney contributor, Michael Haggard, is an experienced sexual abuse lawyer and has represented numerous victims in civil lawsuits. Below, Michael provides commentary on the rights of victims sexually abused by a teacher.
“Schools and administration have an obligation to protect students. School employees are placed in positions of power and trust to care for the students enrolled. Sadly, sexual predators are often found in schools exploiting their power to abuse students. Schools and the employees must do their best to prevent predators from working at their schools and abusing children. Schools must provide adequate safety measures to ensure the safety of their students. Examples of safety measures include misconduct reporting systems, guards, and more.”
“Victims should ask if the school did everything in its power to prevent the abuse from occurring. If a school did not implement proper security measures, it might be considered liable for any sexual misconduct that occurs by its staff. In such cases, a school could be considered negligent for sexual abuse. An example of sexual abuse is if a student reported a teacher, but the staff ignored the complaints. Another example is if other school staff were aware of the abuse but did not report it. Victims of negligence cases should secure an experienced sexual abuse lawyer’s services to help determine their legal options. In negligence cases, the victim and their family could have grounds for a civil lawsuit against the school.”