Introduction to the Case
Five women who said they were sexually assaulted by their high school teacher in the 1980s won a combined $13.6-million judgment after a jury concluded that the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District failed to prevent the abuse. The Torrance jury found that district administrators were negligent in allowing longtime Rolling Hills High School English teacher and baseball coach Garry Poe to groom and, ultimately, sexually abuse teenagers.
Background of the Abuse
The school district will probably have to pay at least $6.46 million of the verdict, which will be divided among the five women. Poe’s former students sued the school district in 2022, alleging that he had cultivated relationships of trust and mentoring with them while they attended Rolling Hills High School, only to sexually assault them on a five-week European tour he chaperoned each year after graduation.
Testimonies of the Victims
Now in their 50s and 60s, the five women took the witness stand during a four-week trial, framing the annual Europe excursion as an alcohol-soaked tradition with a dark side they experienced firsthand. They each sued the school district under the alias “Jane Doe,” and each was referred to in court by her first name only. One of the women, Kim, testified that Poe was drunk the whole trip and narrated how Poe went from teacher to mentor to abuser. Poe taught her freshman and senior year English, and she became a favorite of his. She recalled Poe as openly flirtatious and said he often asked her about her boyfriend and whether they were having sex.
Details of the Abuse
On the Europe trip, Kim testified, Poe often visited her room or summoned her to his. “Every night I was scared,” Kim testified, often crying on the witness stand as she described experiencing multiple sexual assaults. At the time, she was 18 years old and said she was overwhelmed. During the trip, she said, “I was in survival mode.” Two other women testified that during their respective Europe trips in the 1980s, Poe initiated unwanted sexual intercourse with them while they were 17 years old. Another Rolling Hills High graduate said that during her Europe trip in 1989, she had oral sex with Poe when she was 17.
Response of the School District
One woman, Michelle, recounted that on the Europe trip, Poe propositioned her and attempted to kiss her in his hotel room, but she left. A friend of hers alerted another chaperone and Rolling Hills High teacher, Jerry Kestenberg, who then summoned Michelle for a one-on-one meeting. “He told me that I had likely misunderstood what happened, and that Coach Poe was trying to be ‘fatherly,’” she testified. She said Kestenberg reminded her that Poe had a wife and four children, asking, “Did I want to hurt them?” Lawyers for the school district acknowledged that what Poe did was “despicable” but argued that most of the sexual abuse occurred after the students had graduated, on a trip that Poe led and organized on his own and that was unsanctioned by the school district.
Argument of the Plaintiffs
Daniel Varon, a lawyer representing the women, repeatedly compared Poe to a “wolf” who roamed campus for years, pinpointing young girls for his annual Europe trip whom he could then assault. By the time of the trip — which began shortly after graduation — none of the attendees were officially students in the school district. “Garry Poe was able to develop trust, break down boundaries and ultimately recruit and sexually abuse each one of them,” Varon told jurors during his closing argument. “They suffered lifelong harm ever since.” The women testified to varying degrees of shame, guilt, anxiety, avoidance and trauma from their dealings with Poe.
Verdict and Aftermath
The jury ultimately awarded $3.4 million each to three of the women and $1.7 million each to two others. Jenn Liakos, a lawyer for the five women, said late Monday that her clients felt “validated” by the verdict, adding, “They’ve come to court and talked about really difficult things to talk about.” Varon, the other plaintiffs’ attorney, said that “to have a jury come back and say, ‘We believe you, we believe you have been impacted, and we believe the school district could have prevented it’” was “an incredibly gratifying experience.”
Conclusion
The verdict serves as a reminder that institutions have a responsibility to protect their students from abuse and that failure to do so can have severe consequences. The case highlights the importance of believing and supporting victims of sexual abuse and holding perpetrators and institutions accountable for their actions.
FAQs
Q: How much was the verdict awarded to the five women?
A: The verdict awarded a combined $13.6 million to the five women.
Q: What was the role of Garry Poe in the abuse?
A: Garry Poe was a longtime Rolling Hills High School English teacher and baseball coach who groomed and sexually abused the five women on a European tour he chaperoned each year after graduation.
Q: What was the response of the school district to the allegations?
A: The school district acknowledged that what Poe did was “despicable” but argued that most of the sexual abuse occurred after the students had graduated, on a trip that Poe led and organized on his own and that was unsanctioned by the school district.
Q: How did the jury decide on the verdict?
A: The jury found that district administrators were negligent in allowing Garry Poe to groom and ultimately sexually abuse the teenagers, and awarded $3.4 million each to three of the women and $1.7 million each to two others.
Q: What is the significance of this case?
A: The case highlights the importance of believing and supporting victims of sexual abuse and holding perpetrators and institutions accountable for their actions.
