3rd family sues DC charter school over child sex abuse

WASHINGTON – A third family has sued a Washington, D.C., charter school over a teacher convicted of sexually assaulting six of his students.

The Washington Post reports the $30 million federal lawsuit against Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School accuses school workers of not protecting the child from Manuel Garcia Fernandez. The lawsuit filed last week accuses Fernandez of abusing the student between 2013 and 2015 when the student was in fourth and fifth grade.

Fernandez was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting students between 2015 and 2017. It’s unclear if the new lawsuit involves a student in the criminal case.

School’s attorney John McGavin said Friday the new lawsuit has been “resolved,” but declined to comment further. The other families settled their lawsuits for undisclosed amounts.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com