Dive Brief:

• Los Angeles Unified School District has decided to cut ties with attorney W. Keith Wyatt, after he successfully represented the district in a sex abuse case centered around a physical relationship between a district teacher and a 14-year-old student.  
• While Wyatt's work spared the district from a pricey payout, his winning strategy of blaming the 14-year old girl has come under much criticism.  
• The girl is appealing the case, according to the Associated Press, since Wyatt accused her of consenting to sex despite being underage and also because the judge allowed her prior sexual history into the courtroom, which is typically barred by rape shield laws in most criminal cases.  

Dive Insight:

The teacher in the case, Elkis Hermida, was sentenced to prison for three years in 2011 and the district was cleared last year of any wrongdoing by a civil jury in Los Angeles Superior Court.  

Speaking in response to the courtroom antics, Dave Holmquist, general counsel for LAUSD, said in a statement, "Mr. Wyatt's comments yesterday were completely inappropriate, and they undermine the spirit of the environment we strive to offer our students every day. Our deepest apologies go out to the young woman and her family, who were hurt by the insensitive remarks of Mr. Wyatt."

In the courtroom, Wyatt not only said the student was as culpable as the teacher, but he made other offensive comments like having sex with a teacher is less dangerous than crossing the street. The case, ultimately, highlighted inconsistencies in California's criminal vs. civil consent laws. While a 14-year-old is too young to give consent in criminal cases, Wyatt cited a federal court decision, which said minors "could consent to sex in some circumstances." The decision he cited dealt with a very specific incest case that the California Supreme Court ruled on.

Ultimately, LAUSD's decision to cut ties with Wyatt is important. A school should be a place where children find refuge and feel safe. When a child is taken advantage of, it is really important that schools do everything in their power to make sure that it not only doesn't happen again, but that other students don't fear similar experiences or coming forward if they are put in an uncomfortable situation.

The events happening at LAUSD are not unique to the district. In fact, Marlborough School, a private all-girls school in Los Angeles, is currently dealing with similar issues of sex abuse and harassment not being addressed properly. According to Buzzfeed, the head of Marlborough, Barbara Wagner, is resigning after news came out that a former English teacher, Joseph Koetters, made several advances on students over the years and even allegedly has a physical relationship with one of them. According to a recent investigation initiated by the school board, Wagner was made aware of at least two of the instances but did not take any action. By ignoring allegations over the years, an implicit message was sent to students that this behavior was all right, which never should have been the case.