After Teacher Convicted Of Sex Offenses, Corona-Norco USD Sued

CORONA, CA — The Corona-Norco Unified School District is the target of a lawsuit stemming from multiple sexual offenses perpetrated by a former high school teacher and athletics coach now serving time in state prison, it was announced Wednesday.

"Schools have a duty to protect the safety and welfare of students," attorney Paul Mones said regarding the civil action. "Schools have a responsibility to not just properly and adequately supervise children delivered into their care by their parents, but as well a responsibility to adequately monitor teachers to ensure that they maintain appropriate and professional boundaries with students."

The suit, filed in Riverside County Superior Court, names both the school district and Joe Robles Jr. of Ontario as defendants.

CNUSD officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Robles pleaded guilty in August 2020 to eight felony and misdemeanor counts, including sexual battery, annoying a minor and statutory rape, according to court records. The acts occurred between August 2014 and July 2017.

The defendant was sentenced to four years in prison. He had no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions.

The track-and-field coach, who also was a full-time educator, was employed by the school district from 2009 until he was arrested in September 2019, according to the civil complaint. Most of that time was spent at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

The five female students victimized by the defendant have joined in the suit against him and the school district. They're all in their early 20s now, attorney James Lewis told City News Service.

"The effects of child sexual abuse are severe and long-lasting," Lewis said. "The brave young women who are part of this case have each suffered extreme emotional distress as a result of being abused by an adult placed in a position of authority by their school and school district."

The complaint states that Robles routinely grabbed victims' hips, kissed them on their heads and faces, touched them intimately as they did calisthenics, asked them whether they were interested in sexual intercourse with him and communicated with them via social media platforms, sending explicit messages that included his fantasies about them.

Lewis characterized Robles' behavior as "grooming," and the plaintiffs believe that the number of actual victims could be much larger than those currently represented, given the duration of the defendant's employment.

"Joe Robles had access to hundreds of children," Lewis said. "We are working to build a community of survivors who are taking the power back."

No court hearings have been scheduled yet in the civil suit, and the plaintiffs declined to disclose what compensatory and damage awards might be sought.

They asked anyone who might have information about Robles' inappropriate interactions with students to contact them at 310-341-2086, or via email at jlewis@sssfirm.com, or paul@paulmones.com.