A former high school band teacher is being accused of impregnating a 16-year-old, then taking the most cowardly way out of the situation imaginable — faking his own death.
A lawsuit has been filed against Paramount High School in Paramount, California after a woman, identified only as Sandra, claimed her former band teacher, Steven Velasquez, groomed and sexually abused her during the 2004-05 school year, when she was just 16 years old. She explained in a statement:
“Although it has been almost 20 years, the pain today, is as strong as the day it happened.”
Sandra says Velazquez was in his early 20s at the time, and served as an assistant to the school’s band director, who was not named in the suit. The teacher allegedly began flirting with the Plaintiff both in and outside of the classroom; it was claimed that he did little to conceal his interest in her, even picking her up from school on a motorcycle. Soon after a period of grooming, the young girl began engaging in sexual acts with the teacher. The lawsuit notes the affair was “open and obvious,” alleging it to be known by “Velasquez’s supervisors as well as numerous staff, faculty, and administrators of the school.”
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Sounds like this is going to be really easy to corroborate then… The lawsuit further stated:
“Regardless of the obvious nature of the inappropriate relationship, Velasquez was allowed to continue being a teaching assistant [and be] around high school females. No one from the School reported the inappropriate behavior to the Plaintiff’s parents or to law enforcement.”
Sandra’s attorney, Samuel Dordulian, explained to The Sun on Wednesday that shortly after the affair began, Sandra was impregnated. Though she feared telling her parents, she did plan on keeping the unborn child. He explained she eventually informed Velasquez and the unnamed band director, who wasn’t any help. Dordulian claimed:
“When Sandra went to tell [the director] about her relationship with Velasquez, he made a point to tell her, ‘just make sure you don’t give me a name because if you do that, I’m gonna have to report it’, clearly indicating he knew it involved someone associated with the band.”
Sandra alleged in the suit that when she informed Velasquez, he reacted angrily, telling her it could ruin his music career. Both Velasquez and the band director pressured her to get an abortion, she claims, but she resisted for months. However, in the fifth month of her pregnancy, she received a strange call from an unknown woman, explaining Velasquez had died — and that it was Sandra’s fault. WTF?!
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Dordulian claims the band director began spreading the news of the death, going along with it when Sandra approached him:
“He told her, ‘You have no other choice. Now you have to have an abortion because you certainly can’t raise it on your own without Steven.’”
The suit claims this advice did not stem from concern for the young girl, but rather an attempt to cover up the affair. Dordulian explained Sandra did end up going through with the abortion, a decision which has left her with lasting trauma. However, shortly after the pregnancy was terminated, Velasquez allegedly appeared outside of Sandra’s window, claiming it was all a misunderstanding. He then returned to the school for a brief period before ultimately disappearing completely. Dordulian explained:
“This was literally ripped out of the pages of a Dateline episode or 20/20, with the talk of the death, then coming back to life, and all the violations of trust and the breaking down of this poor 16-year-old girl.”
More like ripped out of a General Hospital plot! Sadly this was all too real. As Dordulian says:
“Sandra never recovered after her abortion and she was never the same again.”
See more (below):
What a crazy and heartbreaking story, and a complete betrayal of trust and decency on the school’s part to not speak up at the time of the abuse. We hope Sandra finds some peace in court, and is eventually able to heal from her trauma — and that those responsible face some kind of justice!
[Images via ABC7/YouTube]
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