Coach & Principal Neglected to Investigate or Report Abuse to Law Enforcement
(Anaheim, CA) – Jeff Anderson & Associates and Greenberg Gross have filed a lawsuit against Bell High School and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), accusing a former teacher, Jeffrey Scott Jones, of sexually abusing at least five underage females. Three of the survivors named in the lawsuit filed as Jane DOEs: Jane DOE 7035, Jane DOE 7064, and Jane DOE 7063.
This is not the first time Jones has been accused of abuse. In 2017 he was criminally convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old and was sentenced to 46 years to life in prison. Upon hearing his sentence, Jones sliced his throat in the courtroom, was rushed to the hospital, and has since recovered.
In the mid to late 1980’s, LAUSD hired Jeffrey Scott Jones to teach English at Bell High School. During this time, Jones cultivated a pattern of marrying underage students, taking their virginity, finding a new student, and marrying them as soon as he was divorced. Starting in 1986 and continuing up to 2012, Jones groomed and sexually abused five underage girls, marrying three of them. Jones used several tactics to determine which students were most vulnerable and susceptible to abuse. He had students take personality tests that he would psychoanalyze, read student’s palms, and caressed their hands to see their responses, and even required students to turn in journals with personal and intimate details of their home lives.
“Jones is one of the most calculated child perpetrators I’ve ever seen,” said attorney Heather Brown. “He went beyond typical grooming tactics and used multiple strategies to methodically target students who were most vulnerable.”
In approximately 1987, Jane DOE 7035’s sister reported the abuse to Principal Melquiades Mares, but no disciplinary action or formal investigation took place. In 2001, Coach Pamela Williams reported Jane DOE 7063 and Jones’s “inappropriate” relationship to Principal Mares. Again, no disciplinary action was taken and neither Mares nor Williams reported abuse to law enforcement. Things finally came to in an end in 2016, when Jones was convicted of criminal charges related to sexual assault and rape of a minor and was later sentenced to 46 years – life in prison. The conviction of Jones is due to the bravery of a 13-year-old, who was sexually abused by Jones in 2012, and made the courageous decision to report the abuse to authorities.
Statement from Survivor DOE 7064
School districts have a legal, moral, and ethical duty to protect children from predators while in their care. LAUSD failed miserably and created a dangerous environment allowing innocent children to be preyed upon for decades. This is unacceptable.
I’m hopeful this lawsuit will shine light on the need for change within the school district, so they stop covering up and turning a blind eye to sexual abuse regardless of how well-liked, popular, or “cool” a teacher is considered.
I would urge survivors, teachers, and colleagues to find the courage to speak up, take a stand against evil, and stop these predators in their tracks.
This is not the first time LAUSD or Bell High School have been named in a lawsuit with allegations of child sexual abuse. A separate lawsuit filed against Bell High School and LAUSD alleges that a student was sexually abused by two male teachers, Meredith Seals and Juan Fraga, which resulted in a pregnancy.
“Jones utterly disregarded and exploited his position of power,” said attorney Mike Reck. “He violated the privacy, personal boundaries, and bodies of multiple underage students to who saying no wasn’t an option.”