Bassett Unified reaches tentative settlement with abused former students

The Bassett Unified School District has reached a tentative settlement with seven minor plaintiffs who allege they were sexually abused by a former school custodian, attorneys in the case told a judge Wednesday.

Lawyers for the district and the girls informed Pomona Superior Court Judge Peter A. Hernandez during a final status conference that an accord was reached, subject to final approval by the Board of Education and the judge, whose consent is needed because the plaintiffs are minors.

The suit brought in December 2018 stated that they plaintiffs are all former students at Torch Middle School in Industry and are identified as Jane TR Doe, Jane CL Doe, Jane GL Doe, Jane JJ Doe, Jane ED Doe, Jane GB Doe and Jane RB Doe. They allege they were sexually harassed by former custodian Michael Anthony Barry from 2014 to May 2017 and that the district was negligent in supervising him. The victims were ages 10 to 12 at the time.

“Barry would keep plaintiffs in his janitorial office during passing periods and lunch,” the girls’ attorneys stated in their court papers. “He also lured and groomed students by offering them snacks such as chips and candy.”

Barry’s “despicable acts” upon the girls included forcing side hugs and placing his hand around their shoulders or waist, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers court papers.

In November 2018, Barry, then 60, pleaded no contest to felony and misdemeanor criminal charges involving lewd and lascivious acts with children, annoying and molesting a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced the next month to 14 years in state prison.

BUSD lawyers denied the district was negligent and maintained that Barry, of La Puente, was the sole cause of the plaintiffs’ damages. The plaintiffs’ lawyers dismissed Barry as a defendant in the civil case in March 2021.

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