A Dos Pueblos High School family sued the Santa Barbara Unified School District, its board and three former Dos Pueblos employees after discovering evidence that their son was allegedly sexually abused at school.
The lawsuit, filed by the Veen Firm on May 13, alleges that three special education employees at Dos Pueblos High School, Andrew Grimes, Andrew Mitchell and Miguel “Michael” Angel Juarez, sexually abused a student.
As a minor with developmental and learning disabilities, the plaintiff is especially vulnerable to such abuse.
The complaint states that on May 2, 2025, the mother of a Dos Pueblos student discovered evidence that her son was sexually abused in school bathrooms and other secluded areas on campus. As a result, he continues to suffer from various forms of physical and emotional harm, causing him to incur expenses for proper psychological treatment and medical care.
“Due to the nature of Plaintiff’s disabilities and the trauma inflicted upon him, plaintiff is presently unable to articulate the full extent and details of the abuse that occurred,” the suit states.
The claims against SBUSD say it failed to conduct proper due diligence in hiring the employees, failed to adequately supervise them and failed to implement and enforce policies that would prevent the sexual abuse of vulnerable students. It also alleges that staff had unsupervised access to a minor with special needs during toileting and hygiene assistance.
A total of eight causes of action were named in the suit, including sexual battery, negligent hiring, failure to educate and warn, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiff and his mother are not named in the court filings in order to maintain the privacy of his family and because the plaintiff is a minor, attorney Steven Kronenberg said.
“Any student, whether they are the plaintiff that is in this lawsuit or any other who’s experienced what we have alleged happened would have a lot of trouble dealing with the aftermath of that for a lifetime,” Kronenberg said. “Anyone, whether they are a special needs student or otherwise… this is not something you just get over.”
Ed Zuchelli, the spokesperson for the district, said it has not been served with the lawsuit and in general does not comment on pending litigation.
“The District’s strict standards of professional and employee supervision include several methods of reporting inappropriate behavior,” Zuchelli said. “Any allegation of misconduct will be thoroughly and swiftly investigated.”
