Redlands parents demand action on sex abuse claims in district

REDLANDS, Calif. - Parents of children within the Redlands Unified School District are demanding transparency and action amid sexual abuse claims and allegations that school administrators allegedly tried to cover up.

A board meeting with dozens of parents in attendance was held Monday night following a CBS News investigation that aired earlier this month, uncovering child sex abuse allegations dating as far back as 1999. 

School administrators and teachers reportedly dismissed claims of abuse and failed to report those allegations and in some cases, pressured alleged abusers and students victims to move to other schools or districts, the report found. 

"One of the PE teachers made comments about how my shorts fit me, how they're too short or too tight…" one former student said. 

A mother came forward and said her son was sexually abused on the bus. 

"The school did nothing about it. She's still going to school and my son is homeschooled. They said to remove my son, not remove her, because they can't forcibly remove her," she said.

The district said since 2016, it has taken several steps to prevent sexual abuse, conducting mandatory training on how to identify child grooming behavior, adopted new student-adult policies, and hired additional student counselors.

Redlands Unified is a fairly small school district, with 25 campuses and just over 20,000 students. 

Fifty students have accused more than 25 teachers of sexual misconduct since 1999. Two cases were reported just last year, with 11 investigated by local police, leading to the arrest of 9 teachers.

FOX 11 has reached out to the Redlands Unified School District for comment but has not yet heard back.