VENTURA : Settlement Reached With Girl’s Family

Ventura school officials said Thursday they have reached an out-of-court settlement with the family of a Ventura High student who became sexually involved with former football coach Harvey Kochel.

Supt. Joseph Spirito said the settlement had been reached in December and that the lawsuit filed by the parents of the girl, who was 15 when the sexual affair began, has been dismissed.

Spirito disputed a published report that the girl’s parents received $2.2 million in the settlement.

“That is flat-out wrong,” Spirito said. “It was nowhere near that amount.”

He declined to reveal the amount of the settlement, saying the court records have been sealed by order of Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edwin M. Osborne. But he said it was less than the reported amount.

And he added: “The amount of money that was awarded to the family did not come from district funds. I can say that.”

Besides the Ventura Unified School District and several top administrators, Kochel was also named as a defendant in the suit. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

The family’s attorney, Steven Effres of Calabasas, said the girl and her parents are satisfied with the settlement. The girl is attending college outside the Ventura County area, but her parents remain in the community, Effres said.

The settlement ends all litigation relating to Kochel’s involvement with the girl, said Byron Lawler, the school district’s attorney. Although Kochel allegedly had intimate relationships with other students, no other civil lawsuits have been filed against the district, Lawler said.

Kochel was fired two years ago and later served a year in prison for having sex with the girl. Two other coaches at Ventura High have lost their jobs as a result of alleged improper relationships with female students.