Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s governing board recently approved a $2.12 million settlement with a student who was sexually abused by a teacher at Rio Del Mar Elementary School in the 1990s.
The student, known as E.S. in court records, filed a lawsuit in September 2021 in Santa Cruz County Superior Court alleging the district was negligent at the time that he was abused by physical education teacher Candace Ann Mercer. The settlement was first reported by Santa Cruz Local.
The complaint says E.S. was abused by Mercer for several years starting around 1995, while he was between 11 and 13 years old. Mercer, who is now 68, was arrested in September 1997 and convicted of lewd acts with a child under 14 that December. She lives in Michigan.
E.S. alleged in the complaint that district officials were aware of or had reason to suspect that Mercer was sexually abusing students and “took no action to curb or otherwise prevent future abuse” of E.S. and other students.
The school board approved and announced the payout during its Oct. 22 board meeting. Initially, Trustee Misty Navarro announced that the payout was $2.2 million, but after a correction from Trustee Carol Turley shortly after, she clarified that it was $2.12 million.
PVUSD representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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