Placer, county schools pay $4M in sex abuse case involving special education teen
Placer County and its Office of Education have paid a $4 million settlement to a man who alleged a then-special education teacher sexually assaulted him in the early 2010s.
The settlement agreement, signed last month and received by The Sacramento Bee from a California Public Records Act request, comprises $2.25 million paid by the Placer County Office of Education and $1.75 million paid by the county.
Former teacher Jennifer Lynn Woods sexually a teen when he was a student at Sierra Vista, a former special education school in Granite Bay operated by the Office of Education, alleged the lawsuit filed in 2022 in Placer Superior Court.
Woods and a county spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
“PCOE takes its legal and fiduciary responsibilities seriously and remains committed to transparency, accountability, and full compliance with applicable laws,” Office of Education spokesperson Michelle Eklund said in an email. “Our focus continues to be on supporting students and school districts throughout Placer County.”
The abuse started in 2010 when the man was 14 and Woods was in her mid-30s, the suit alleged. Shortly after meeting him, Woods started “grooming” and conditioning the teen by paying special attention to him and spending a lot of time with him out of class, according to the suit.
During the teen’s sophomore year, Woods gave the teen alcohol and had him over to her house, where she had sexual intercourse with him, the suit alleged.
In his junior year, officials transferred the teen to a different high school, but he continued to visit Sierra Vista to see Woods, and they engaged in sexual conduct in her classroom, the suit alleged.
In 2012, Woods was arrested and, in 2013, she pleaded guilty to two felony charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, related to the teen, according to the suit.
The Placer County Office of Education last year sued Woods alleging she concealed the conduct from officials and therefore should be the one to pay the settlement.
“PCOE abided by all requisite standards of care in the training, oversight, and supervision of its students and staff,” the suit alleged. “Woods perpetrated her crimes against John Doe with deception and concealment from PCOE, and thereby Woods bears sole or apportioned responsibility.”
That suit, which is still active, says Woods, a Granite Bay resident, was working at the school since 2005 — about five years before meeting the teen.
Woods does not have an active teaching credential, said Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
