SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Union Tribune reported today that a former coach at La Jolla Country Day School has been charged with 13 felony counts of sexual abuse, including a lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 years of age, and sodomy of a person under 16 by a person over 21. Vijay Prasad, a fencing coach at UC San Diego, will be arraigned Thursday. Judge David Szumowski set Prasad's bail at $200,000. If convicted, Prasad faces 11 years in state prison, according to a 10 News report. Further details about the allegations were not immediately available.
Incidents such as this alleged one are increasingly reported, and raise the question whether the organizations or entities that oversaw the program where the abuse occurred was involved. Had Prasad been accused of sexual misconduct before? Were policies in place to supervise his interactions with students? At any time was a blind eye turned to Prasad's actions?
Estey Bomberger's San Diego child molestation and sexual abuse lawyers have been nationally recognized for holding schools, day cares, foster agencies, and youth organizations accountable for sexual crimes against children and teenagers. In 2010, Estey Bomberger obtained the largest single plaintiff verdict in state history for a child molestation victim - a $30 million verdict. If your child has been the victim of abuse, contact the lawyers at Estey Bomberger for a confidential review of your potential case.
Sources: San Diego Union Tribune, 10 News, CBS 8
