A school district in Southern California has agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle a recent lawsuit related to a teacher who became pregnant by one of the students she was accused of sexually abusing.
This settlement brings the total amount paid by the Redlands Unified School District to victims of Laura Whitehurst to $8.25 million since her arrest in 2013, as reported by the Southern California News Group.
In a prior case in August 2016, the school district agreed to a $6 million settlement with a former student who fathered a child with Whitehurst while she was his teacher.
The most recent lawsuit was filed in 2021 by another former student who alleged that he was preyed upon and sexually abused by Whitehurst at Redlands High School in 2007 and 2008 when he was just 14 years old, according to the plaintiff’s attorney, Morgan Stewart.
Whitehurst had admitted to the police in 2013 that she engaged in sexual activity with the student approximately 10 to 15 times, both in her classroom and at her apartment.
Redlands Unified School District spokesperson Christine Stephens mentioned on Friday that the district was aware of the recent settlement but could not provide further comment due to confidentiality agreements.
In the prior lawsuit, the student who fathered Whitehurst’s child alleged that school officials within Redlands Unified were aware of his relationship with the teacher but failed to notify his family.
Whitehurst gave birth in 2014 after a year-long sexual relationship with the student, which began when he was 16 years old. Laura Whitehurst, who served as an English teacher and soccer coach, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with three former students. She subsequently served six months in jail and registered as a sex offender.
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