Former Pleasanton Student Sues PUSD For Alleged Negligence

PLEASANTON, CA — A former Pleasanton student filed a lawsuit against Pleasanton Unified School District, alleging that the district should have done more to protect her against her a teacher whom she says raped her when she was about 11 years old.

A lawsuit filed in December in Alameda County Superior Court alleges that Stephen Briggs, a former teacher at Harvest Park Middle School, sexually assaulted now-35-year-old Katherine Roberts in 1999 and 2000. In 2003, Briggs was arrested, and in 2004, Briggs pleaded guilty to two charges of having sex with another underage student, according to a Pleasanton Weekly article written at the time. A special plea bargain dropped nine of the original charges, and resulted in five years’ probation, the loss of his California teaching credential, mandatory counseling, and the possibility of reducing felony charges to misdemeanor charges upon completion of probation. He was reportedly put on administrative leave in January 2003, and the district told the Weekly his status was changed to non-pay in early September.

According to the lawsuit, Roberts went into Briggs’ classroom during lunch breaks when she was in sixth grade. The open classroom became a place of “respite for her, where she thought she was safe and protected from the risk factors outside of his classroom.”

Briggs allegedly began to “dote on her, compliment her, probe her for intimate details of her life, and [shower] her with physical affection.” The lawsuit alleges that Briggs began finding different ways to touch Roberts through “accidentally” brushing against her and touching her, looking down her shirt, and complimenting her. The majority of these behaviors took place on school grounds, in sight of staff and school administrators, according to the suit.

Eventually, at some point before March 2000, Roberts grew uncomfortable and reported the conduct to then-Principal Jim Hansen. Hansen reportedly told her that she was misinterpreting the gestures of the well-liked teacher, and that he was simply telling her she was doing a good job in school.

In March 2000, during a school-sponsored trip to Disneyland, the lawsuit alleges that Briggs entered Roberts’ hotel room while she was alone and raped her. He then reportedly told her not to tell anyone what happened, and even if she did, no one would believe her.

Roberts said she feared she would be “ridiculed, attacked, or completely dismissed,” and did not report Briggs. According to the lawsuit, she sustained “severe emotional and psychological distress,” including physical symptoms like night terrors, psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, physical injuries to her pelvic floor and more. She has reportedly had difficulties forming meaningful romantic relationships and staying employed.

Roberts did not find out until 2021 that he had been criminally convicted in 2004 of sexually assaulting another student. She was able to file charges under AB 218, a new California law that allows victims to file civil lawsuits within three years of the date they discover that their psychological damages were caused by sexual abuse.

The lawsuit accuses the school district of “failing to properly hire, train and supervise Briggs” and failing to “take any actions to restrict Brigg’s access to and/or interactions with minors.” The district is charged with negligence, vicarious liability of child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, violation of civil rights, and vicarious liability of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

A spokesperson for the district said that they do not comment on pending litigation. Court documents show that the district is challenging the lawsuit by questioning the constitutionality of AB 218, according to Pleasanton Weekly.