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Four alleged victims of a former Fontana middle school teacher now serving a 20-year prison sentence have settled their sexual abuse lawsuits with the school district for $14 million.
The settlement was reached in March but not announced until Tuesday, July 23, by an attorney representing the victims of Garry Lee Gorgei, who taught at Southridge Middle School from 1996 through 1999, when he left the Fontana Unified School District district and moved out of state. Three of the victims were Gorgei’s students.
Gorgei taught math at Southridge and also was a teacher and mentor at Fontana High School, but no students from that school were identified as victims, said attorney Morgan Stewart.
Fontana police arrested Gorgei, 64, of Colorado Springs in February 2020 on suspicion of molesting five young girls. San Bernardino County prosecutors initially charged him with 25 felony counts, but under a plea agreement, Gorgei pleaded guilty in March 2022 to seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child. He was sentenced to 20 years at San Quentin State Prison, court records show.
“The amount of this settlement reflects the amount of harm done to our clients and the degree of neglect by school officials that allowed a serial predator to inflict this harm,” Stewart said.
He noted that the four lawsuits, filed from March 2021 to April 2024, were consolidated into one and that the settlement exhausted the school district’s coverage with its insurance carrier.
“They paid out everything they had in terms of coverage,” Stewart said. “If they had more, I would have demanded more.”
He said the evidence against Gorgei was overwhelming.
“I think Fontana Unified actually did the right thing here, which is rare for me to say,” said Stewart, whose firm also represented victims of sexual misconduct by teachers and staff in the Redlands Unified School District. “I think they realized this was a case they could not win and pushed to get it done.”
A yearbook photo shows teacher Garry Lee Gorgei of Colorado Springs. (Photo courtesy of the Fontana Police Department)
Preyed on students
According to the lawsuits, several staff members reported Gorgei’s inappropriate conduct involving female students to administrators within months of his hiring in September 1996, but administrators failed to report Gorgei to police, allowing him to prey on and abuse female students and other young girls for years.
“Serial child sexual predators do not stop until they are caught and put behind bars. That is why school administrators have a responsibility under the law to immediately report complaints of child sexual abuse to law enforcement. This case clearly demonstrates what happens when this is not done,” said a statement from attorneys Thomas Moore and Ron Labriola, who also represented victims in the litigation and served as co-counsel.
Southridge staff members reported to administrators they had seen Gorgei in his car with female students leaving campus or trying to leave campus. Other inappropriate conduct ranged from showing favoritism to female students, sexually suggestive comments and neck massages. The misconduct escalated to intercourse and oral sex.
One former student alleged that, beginning in the sixth grade in 1998, when she was 11, and continuing through 1999, Gorgei engaged in multiple sex acts with her, including forced intercourse, oral sex and masturbation. The sex acts occurred on and off the Southridge campus.
In January 1997, another student showed Gorgei a piece of cardboard that was given to her by other students that read, “Will (expletive) for food.” Instead of disciplining the students for taunting the girl with the offensive message, Gorgei responded by saying, “What am I supposed to do? Buy you a hamburger?”
Humiliated and dejected, the girl subsequently reported the incident to then school administrator Dawn Marmo, according to the lawsuit.
In June 1998, then-Southridge Principal David Linzey and then-Assistant Principal Miki McCabe, according to a lawsuit, gave Gorgei a memorandum memorializing a conference they had to discuss the teacher’s sexual misconduct involving female students that included, among other things, kissing a female student by the ear.
‘Deeply troubling’
In a statement Tuesday, the district extended its “deepest sympathies” to the victims and their families.
“The allegations against Georgi are deeply troubling. His actions, as detailed in the complaints, are reprehensible and go against the values of FUSD. The District is committed to ensuring justice and closure for the victims through this settlement,” the district said in its statement.
“Since the time of these incidents in 1996, we have implemented comprehensive policies and procedures to protect our students, including mandatory reporting training, thorough background checks, expanded student support services, and community engagement initiatives.”
The district said it is dedicated to transparency, accountability and safety.
“We will continue prioritizing our students’ well-being to create a secure environment for all.”
Originally Published: July 24, 2024 at 7:10 a.m.
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Courtesy : https://www.pressenterprise.com/2024/07/24/fontana-unified-pays-14-million-to-settle-sex-abuse-lawsuits-involving-predatory-ex-teacher/