Moreno Valley Unified School District serves the city of Moreno Valley in Riverside County. In 2023 a jury returned a $135 million verdict against it in a school sexual abuse case, a verdict the district itself called “unprecedented.”
The Vista Heights Middle School verdict
On October 10, 2023, a Riverside County Superior Court jury returned a $135 million verdict against the district in favor of two former students who were molested by a Vista Heights Middle School teacher beginning in the 1996–97 school year, when both were sixth graders. The jury assigned 90 percent of the fault to the district and 10 percent to the teacher, who was convicted and is serving 52 years to life in state prison. The plaintiffs’ attorneys said complaints about the teacher dated back to 1988. The district said after the verdict that it was weighing its options.
What a 90 percent allocation means
The jury’s allocation reflects a finding that the district, not the abuser, bore most of the responsibility for what happened, because it was the district that had the complaints and the power to act. A teacher who stays in the classroom for years after the first complaint is the pattern behind almost every large school abuse verdict in California.
Why the district is responsible
The district is responsible when the adults in charge knew, or should have known, that an employee was a danger to students and did not act: a principal who got a complaint and did nothing, a teacher who saw something and did not report it, a district that hired someone without checking. Those failures are what a case is built on. If you are 40 or older and the abuse happened before 2024, a 2026 law also requires stronger proof against a public school district: clear and convincing evidence that the district actually knew of the misconduct and failed to act. How a claim against a school district works.
Is it too late?
Probably not. If the abuse happened before 2024, you can usually file until you turn 40, or within a few years of realizing as an adult that the abuse caused harm you are living with now (that window is five years today; a law signed in 2026 shortens it to three years starting January 1, 2027). If the abuse happened on or after January 1, 2024, there is no deadline at all. You do not have to file a government claim first. More on deadlines.
Who may have a claim
Anyone abused as a student by a Moreno Valley Unified employee or volunteer, at any of the district’s schools, at any time. Former Vista Heights students, and students of any teacher about whom complaints were made, should ask about their rights even if the abuse happened decades ago.
Talk to us
If you or your child was abused by an employee of this district, call 877-428-4544 any time. The conversation is private and free, cases are filed under a Doe name, and there is no attorney fee and no costs unless we recover.
Sources
The cases described on this page are drawn from court records and news reports. They are not our cases, and past results do not predict the outcome of any claim. This page is general information as of October 2026, not legal advice.
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