Gloria Allred representing multiple plaintiffs
Former Los Osos High School Assistant Football Coach David Riden pleaded guilty Oct. 4 to secretly recording girls in the school’s bathroom and locker room.
He pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession of child pornography, two felony counts of using a minor for obscene matter, one misdemeanor count of viewing a person through a hole in a bathroom and one misdemeanor count of using a concealed camera. As part of the deal, prosecutors are dropping 24 misdemeanor counts of using a concealed camera and five misdemeanor counts of peeking through a hole in a bathroom.
The San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office identified 21 juvenile victims, and said he possessed over 600 images of what the documents call child sexual assault material.
He will be sentenced Nov. 18. He faces nine years and four months in state prison, and lifetime registration as a sex offender.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said they are satisfied with the plea deal. “It ensures Riden is held accountable for his crimes and the victims will not have to endure a potentially lengthy trial and any further emotional trauma,” the office said in a press release.
The DA’s Office filed charges against Riden Aug. 30, 2021. Riden is currently in custody.
Civil lawsuits
Riden and the Chaffey Joint Union High School District still face five civil lawsuits.
Lucy Baker, a Los Osos High School alumna, brought a class action case against Riden and the district Oct. 8, Case No. CIVSB2128630. Jason Hartley of Hartley LLP represents Baker. Her complaint claims Riden placed a recording device in both a girls’ bathroom and the girls’ locker room, and that he had worked at the school since 2015.
Her complaint describes how he was caught. A school employee found the camera in the restroom, disguised to look like a phone charger, around August, 2021. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department was called in to investigate, and the school’s surveillance video showed it was used by Riden. Law enforcement found additional images of underage girls in devices found in Riden’s home.
Baker’s suit attempts to bring a class of all California residents who, from Jan. 1, 2015, to Aug. 24, 2021, were visible to any camera used by Riden at Los Osos High School.
Forty-nine unnamed Los Osos alumnae filed their own case against Riden and the school district July 6, Case No. CIVSB2213835. They bring four causes of action, for different types of negligence.
Gloria Allred of Allred Maroko & Goldberg represents the plaintiffs.
Their case said that students from visiting teams could have also been recorded in the locker room, and that the school should’ve known that Riden, who was a boys’ locker room assistant, spent improper time in the girls’ locker room and the girls’ bathroom. He should not have been granted a key fob to enter the girls’ locker room, they claim.
Another 28 unnamed alumnae filed their own case, with the same causes of action, against the former coach and the school district on the same date, Case No. CIVSB2213930. Adam Shea of Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP represents the plaintiffs.
A complex case management conference for both suits is scheduled for Nov. 17.
Another Jane Doe filed a second case against Riden and the school district July 15, 2022, with the case number CIVSB2214049. Justin King of the Rancho Cucamonga Law Offices of Justin King represents the plaintiff. A trial setting conference is set for that case March 6, 2023.
Yet another unnamed plaintiff filed a suit against both defendants July 22, Case No. CIVSB2216237. Tamar Arminak of Arminak Law, APC represents the plaintiff. A trial setting conference is set for March 13. They bring 13 causes, including gross negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Case information
Deputy District Attorney Gina Florick prosecutes.
Jeffery Rubenstein of Beverly Hills represents Riden.
San Bernardino Superior Judge Michael Libutti presides.
Case number FWV21003234.
Read the criminal complaint here.
Read the complaint for case number CIVSB2128630 here.
Read the complaint for case number CIVSB2213835 here.
Read the complaint for case number CIVSB2213930 here.
Read the complaint for case number CIVSB2214049 here.
Read the complaint for case number CIVSB2216237 here.
