FULLERTON : District Settles Sex-Harassment Lawsuit

The Fullerton Joint Union High School District will pay a $670,000 out-of-court settlement to four female students who filed a lawsuit contending they suffered emotional trauma as a result of sexual harassment by a Sunny Hills High School teacher, attorneys for both sides said Thursday.

George Fairchild, 54, a former life science and mathematics teacher at the school, pleaded guilty in January to four of 15 felony and misdemeanor charges that originally included lewd and lascivious conduct, sexual battery and molesting a child under 18.

The four teen-age girls, now ages 17 to 19, and their parents filed a civil lawsuit against Fairchild and the district last May.

The main issue behind the lawsuit was the female students’ contention that they were ignored by school officials when they complained about the harassment, said their attorney, Vincent Goodwin. School officials did not contact police for more than nine months after they learned of allegations against Fairchild, according to court and police records.

The district did not admit liability in agreeing to the settlement, said its attorney, Gary Gibeaut. He said the economics involved in taking the case to trial played a major role in his recommendation that the district settle out of court.

“It was an expensive (criminal) case to defend, and a lot more would have been spent if we had taken the (civil) case to trial,” Gibeaut said. “But based on the facts, circumstances and evidence as well as the nature and extent of the plaintiffs’ injuries, the district decided on my advice to settle the case without any admission of guilt, culpability or wrongdoing.”

Goodwin saw the settlement as a victory for the civil rights of students.

“This case demonstrates that students do have civil rights and that female students, particularly if they are harassed or sexually molested by teachers, should come forward, because there is a remedy for it,” Goodwin said.