The Campbell Union High School District has agreed to pay a former Leigh High School student $5.75 million to settle a lawsuit alleging she was sexually abused in 2003 by Shawn Thomas, who at the time was a Leigh High teacher and football and track coach at Los Gatos High School.
The lawsuit was filed in April 2024, one month after Thomas was arrested on charges of rape and sexual
assault of a minor. His case is scheduled to go to trial next February.
The settlement was announced today by the San Jose law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, who represented the former student.
The lawsuit stated that Thomas impregnated a young 15-year old student and then forced her to have an abortion. “More egregious is that Thomas's wife was the Dean at the school, [and] she was told of the sexual relationship by the victim and in turn blamed the victim,” the law firm said in a press release announcing the settlement. “She did not report [it] and Thomas was free to continue abusing the student.”
The lawsuit claimed that the Campbell district, which includes Leigh High School, failed to protect the girl from Thomas, who impregnated and forced her to have an abortion in 2003.
Thomas was arrested by San Jose detectives in March 2024 after the former student, at the urging of her sister, disclosed to law enforcement that he raped her while she was a student at the school.
According to the survivor’s sister, “this settlement is one more step toward my sister reclaiming her life after the immense harm she endured.”
In a statement released by the law firm, the sister said: “While nothing can undo what happened, we are grateful that the district is finally being held accountable for its failures. Our hope is that this moment not only helps my sister move forward, but also ensures that no other student is ever ignored or unprotected in the way she was.”
The survivor, named Jane Doe in the lawsuit, began the 2002-2003 school year as a freshman at Leigh High School. Thomas was one of her teachers.
Thomas, the lawsuit states, allegedly began grooming her for his sexual advances and sexually assaulting her numerous times including on school grounds in his portable classroom and in a storage room within the boys' locker room and impregnated her at age 15.
On one occasion while Thomas was engaging in sexual intercourse with the student in his portable classroom, Thomas’s wife Sarah, the Dean of Leigh High School at the time, discovered the victim alone with her husband in his classroom after the two abruptly stopped having sex because they saw her approaching, it is alleged in the lawsuit.
In or around the spring of 2003, the lawsuit claims that Thomas insisted that Jane Doe have an abortion, which she did after he had impregnated her.
After becoming pregnant, Jane Doe allegedly disclosed to Sarah Thomas that Shawn Thomas had sexual intercourse with her. According to the lawsuit, Thomas's wife allegedly responded by blaming the victim, asking the young student how she could do this to her after all she had done for her.
The lawsuit claims that no school district employee, including Thomas’ wife, reported the abuse to law enforcement or Child Protective Services nor did any district employee take any action to protect the victim or terminate Thomas.
Shawn Thomas, according to the lawsuit, continued sexually assaulting the victim on school grounds, including engaging in sexual intercourse with her in a storage room within the boys' locker room.
“Leigh High School had every opportunity to prevent the abuse,” attorney Lauren Cerri said in a statement. “There were red flags everywhere that Shawn Thomas was a sexual predator. Even worse, a direct report was made by my client and completely ignored.”
“This settlement represents some measure of justice for this woman after years of suffering in silence,” Cerri added. “We hope this case sends a clear message that schools must take their duty to safeguard students seriously.”
After Thomas's arrest, the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District said its coaches are required to undergo thorough background checks and fingerprinting prior to their initial hire.
Shawn Thomas is well known in the South Bay Area athletic community. He was a three-sport athlete at Leigh High School and was inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. He also played football at San Jose State University.
He served as the football coach at Leigh High School from 2001-2010 and also served as an assistant coach at Valley Christian High School in San Jose in 2012 before joining the coaching staff at Los Gatos High School.
Sarah Thomas had been employed by the Campbell Union School District for more than 20 years.
San Jose Inside today reached out to the Campbell school district for a comment on the settlement.
