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Photo credit: 2019 photo by James Quigg of the Daily Press/Victorville Daily Press. Pictured is the former Victor Valley Junior High, which later became University Preparatory School in 2008; abandoned in 2014, and ultimately demolished in 2020.
Victor Valley Union High School District has agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by eight survivors of child sexual abuse committed by a former counselor at Victor Valley Junior High School. Attorneys for the plaintiffs announced the settlement on October 22, the Victorville Daily Press reported per Yahoo! News.
The abuse was carried out by former school counselor Eric Lynn Brown, who was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to 102 years in prison in 2005. Court records show that Brown, now 62, was convicted of molesting 10 underage victims while working at the school, in the foster care system, and at an Adelanto probation home known as “Success House” over roughly a decade leading up to his arrest. Eight of those victims—six male and two female—joined the lawsuit.
According to the plaintiffs’ statement, the crimes occurred both on and off school grounds. “The suit also states school officials were aware of Brown locking his office door to be alone with students and did nothing to stop him,” the statement read. “The suit states school officials failed for many years to report Brown’s abuse, as required by their roles as mandatory reporters, which led to Brown abusing multiple children during his employment with the District.”
A plaintiff’s attorney said the settlement “highlights the abject failure of the school administration and the district to protect children from this depraved serial predator.” The attorney added that the District “did everything wrong and ignored Brown’s repeated misconduct. For many years, they failed to report his abuse of children.”
District officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Victor Valley Junior High later became University Preparatory School in 2008, was abandoned in 2014, and ultimately demolished in 2020.
As part of the long-running abuse, “Brown even arranged to have one young male student placed with him as a foster child while he continued to sexually abuse him,” according to appeals court records.
The crimes came to light in 2002, when three victims reported the abuse to a school security guard. “In addition to the testimony of each victim at trial, which showed a clear pattern of such misconduct and corroborated the other victims’ testimony, employees at (the school) and Success House testified about warnings given to Brown regarding respective rules violations involving a counselor’s position and his relationship with the young people at each place,” a judge wrote in a 2006 opinion affirming the conviction.
Prosecutors said Brown showed no remorse during his sentencing. He was denied parole in 2022 and is next eligible for a hearing in October 2027, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records.
For Survivors of School Sexual Abuse
If you or someone you love experienced sexual abuse in a school or other institution, you are not alone. Learn about your legal rights and how to pursue justice at our Institutional Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Guide. You may also receive a free case review by completing the secure, confidential form below.
