Burbank Unified settles for $150K in sex abuse case
A young man sexually abused by his Burbank teacher will receive a $150,000 settlement stemming from a 2011 lawsuit, district officials confirmed Wednesday.
Amy Beck, a former teacher at David Starr Jordan Middle School, turned herself into Burbank police in March 2010 and admitted having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student in the spring and fall of 2009.
She pleaded no contest to having unlawful sexual intercourse and committing a lewd act on a child and served about eight months in prison. She must register as a sex offender for the remainder of her life.
The lawsuit filed by the boy and his parents accused school officials of not training students, teachers and parents to recognize the signs of child abuse.
Court documents state that Beck told the plaintiff she wanted to “teach him” about sex, chose him to work as her classroom aide and hired him to baby-sit her three children.
Beck had sex with the plaintiff three or four times on the middle school campus and routinely gave the boy’s family $300 to $400 per month, according to court documents.
The plaintiff’s attorneys argued that school employees knew of Beck’s relationship with the student, but Burbank Unified attorneys contended no one at the school knew the teacher was engaging in inappropriate behavior.
Court records claim the boy requires “extensive psychotherapy,” that would entail a medical cost ranging from $757,636 to more than $1.2 million.
The settlement will be paid to the family of the plaintiff through Burbank Unified’s insurance provider.
Earlier this year, court records show the plaintiff reached a $25,000 settlement with Beck, and she said she would pay $12,500 of that amount with her homeowner’s insurance policy.
According to California Department of Justice records, Beck now lives in Ontario in San Bernardino County.
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