First published in the June 24 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
Jury selection is underway in a civil lawsuit against the South Pasadena Unified School involving two female teenagers who were molested by a track coach between 2013 and 2014.
The plaintiffs are suing for “emotional distress, damages, which include a loss of trust, peace of mind, innocence and their childhood,” according to a statement from the Carrillo Law Firm, which is representing the two young women.
In 2015, track coach Pierre Jonas Hernandez pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges and sexual battery involving one of the female students.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Jon R. Takasugi sentenced Hernandez to 180 days in jail to be served by electronic monitoring, five years of probation and 30 days of community service.
In addition to having to register as a sex offender for life, Hernandez was also required to attend 52 weeks of sexual compulsion classes.
Also, the judge ordered a 10-year stay-away order, which prohibits Hernandez from contacting either of the victims.
At the time of the incidents, Hernandez was the head track coach at South Pasadena High School. According to testimony at trial, a 16-year-old female student came forward in April 2014 and said Hernandez gave her a massage behind a locked door. The massage included inappropriately touching her by reaching under her shorts and touching her buttocks.
The testimony was corroborated by a second victim who came forward after the investigation had begun. She said Hernandez touched her in a similar manner.
At the time of the incidents, the students were a sophomore and junior.
The current civil lawsuit contends that then-SPHS Principal Janet Anderson failed to protect the two teenagers and failed to properly supervise Hernandez.
School officials did not respond to requests for comment about the civil case.
The trial is being held in Alhambra Superior Court.
