A judge has pared a man’s sexual abuse suit against Los Angeles Unified in which the plaintiff maintained he was molested decades ago by his high school music teacher, with the judge finding the district not liable for alleged acts that occurred off campus and after hours.
The plaintiff, now an adult and identified only as John M.E.L. Doe, alleges in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that he was sexually molested by music instructor Vance Miller at Hamilton Music Academy in 1998-2002 on campus as well as at an outside gym and in the instructor’s home. Doe alleges that the LAUSD and school administrators failed to investigate Miller’s alleged improper interactions with students for more than 17 years.
The off-campus conduct by Miller allegedly involved giving intimate full body massages to Doe at Miller’s home and showering nude with the plaintiff at the gym. Judge Kerry Bensinger heard arguments last Friday on the LAUSD’s motion to remove its liability for any off-campus, after-hours misconduct by Miller. The judge took the issues under submission and issued a final ruling in the district’s favor on Wednesday.
“Plaintiff’s off-campus injuries did not occur during a school-sponsored activity and Miller was not a bus driver or a driver for Hamilton,” the judge wrote, adding, “Plaintiff’s arguments fail to carry the day.”
In his suit filed in August 2023, Doe alleges Miller targeted students who were especially vulnerable.
“He (Miller) encouraged students of color who were having issues with their sexual identity to express their sexuality with him,” the suit states. “He doled out plum musical performance roles to those who permitted his advances and discouraged students who spurned his advances.”
Miller was fired in 2012 and the district has reached settlements with other accusers who previously sued with similar sexual misconduct allegations.