Irvine, California - Lawyers representing multiple alleged victims of child sexual abuse by former LAUSD wrestling coach Terry Gillard appeared in court yesterday to challenge a motion filed by the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Fernando attempts to shift blame to Gillard’s child victims by arguing that their actions contributed to their abuse.
“It is morally reprehensible for anyone, especially a youth-serving organization like the Boys and Girls Club, to stand up in court and argue that children under the age of consent were capable of consenting to sex with one of their adult employees. This is exactly what the attorneys for the Boys and Girls Clubs attempted to do. We called them on it in yesterday's hearing, and the judge agreed with us,” said victims' attorney Saul Wolf.
In May 2019, a jury in the San Fernando Superior Court convicted Gillard on 37 felony and 10 misdemeanor counts, including lewd acts on children under the age of 16, oral copulation with a minor, procuring children to engage in lewd acts, and child molesting. The verdicts were reached after a seven-week trial. Gillard was sentenced to 71 years in prison.
“How can any parent feel safe leaving their child in the care of the Boys and Girls Club if they are going to claim that children are partially responsible for being raped and sexually abused by their adult employee?” asked victim’s attorney Ron Labriola, a partner in The Senators (Ret.) Firm.
Manly Stewart & Finaldi is the nation’s leading firm representing athletes in child sexual abuse cases against school districts, Universities, and Olympic Governing Bodies. They recently represented 180 alleged victims of former Olympic Team doctor Larry Nassar, resulting in a $500 million-dollar settlement against Michigan State University. In 2018, the firm settled cases against the Torrance Unified School District for $31 million on behalf of alleged victims of former wrestling coach and convicted child molester Thomas Snider, against Los Angeles Unified School district for $8 million in cases involving former football coach and convicted child molester Jamie Jimenez, and for $14 million in cases involving former Los Angeles Unified District employee Ronnie Lee Roman. The firm has also settled $30 million in claims against Redlands Unified School District.
The Senators (Ret.) Firm LLP provides high-quality legal representation to victims of childhood sexual abuse. Over the past four years, the Firm represented sexual abuse victims in cases that settled with LAUSD for over $220 Million. The Firm just recently achieved a $31 Million settlement with the Torrance Unified School District for victims who were sexually abused by their wrestling coach.
