Following three lawsuits since January alleging the Redlands Unified School District failed to protect students from sexual abuse from two teachers, the San Bernardino County District Attorney filed five felony charges June 22 against one of the teachers, Joseph Nardella. The charges are one count of sexual abuse and four counts of sodomy of a minor.
Civil attorneys also filed a May 11 sexual abuse case against Clement Middle School teacher Timothy Rochester and the district.
Nardella, 52, has been named twice alongside the Redlands Unified School District in civil suits this year by former students alleging sexual abuse.
In response to one suit, for which he is representing himself, Nardella generally denied the allegations. He has not yet responded to our request for comment.
The (lawsuit), filed by a John Doe Jan. 18, claims the school district attempts to shame sexual assault victims in the hopes of dissuading victims from speaking out, and has for more than 30 years allowed sexual assaults against its students.
The court dismissed some of the allegations against the school district in that case. The school district and Nardella have not filed a legal response yet to the other case against them. The school district and Rochester have not yet filed a legal response to the case against them.
The school district and Rochester have not yet responded to our request for comment.
In 2020, Nardella received base pay of $98,000, and total pay with benefits of $135,600.
Felony case
The San Bernardino District Attorney’s office charged Nardella for continual sexual abuse and four counts of sodomy of a minor, who the DA says was younger than 14 years old when the abuse began in 2017. The abuse continued until 2021, the district attorney’s office alleges in the complaint.
Nardella was arrested Jan. 14, after the now-18-year-old said he was sexually abused between the ages of 12 and 17 by Nardella, according to the county sheriff’s department’s release.
Nardella was arrested again June 24, with bail set at $500,000. Nardella posted bail, and is out of custody.
His arraignment is set for Aug. 10.
San Bernardino Superior Judge Steve Malone presides.
Case number FSB22001813.
Read the complaint here.
Sued in civil court
Nardella and the school district are also facing two civil complaints.
In each case, the plaintiff is represented by Morgan Stewart and Saul Wolf of Irvine’s Manly, Stewart & Finaldi.
The earliest, filed by a John Doe Jan. 18, claims the school district attempts to shame sexual assault victims in the hopes of dissuading victims from speaking out, and has for more than 30 years allowed sexual assaults against its students.
The complaint includes allegations that Clement administrators ignore sexual predators on their campus.
Doe was born in January, 2003, and was 14 years old when Nardella, his teacher, began to abuse him, Doe claims in the complaint.
Nardella engaged in mutual oral sex with the student, requiring mutual sexual touching; he also masturbated the student, Doe alleges in the complaint. The molestation would occur in the classroom and at Nardella’s house, and Nardella directed the student to remain quiet, the complaint says.
Nardella generally denied the complaint. The school district filed a motion to dismiss some of the lawsuit’s causes against it.
Nardella would frequently invite male students into his classroom during passing periods, lunch and after school to discuss sex and dating with students, and occassionally to sexually touch the students, the complaint claims.
His conversations were reported to school administrators, who investigated these conversations but did not take any action against Nardella, the complaint claims. The school also knew Nardella would drive students in his personal vehicle to and from campus, the complaint claims.
The complaint claims assault, sexual battery and gender violence against Nardella. It also claims negligent supervision; negligent hiring and retention; negligent failure to warn, train or educate; sexual abuse and harassment in the educational environment against the school district. Against both, the complaint claims negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment, breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud.
School district’s motion
The school district filed to dismiss the case against it in a March 29 motion. On May 9, the court partially dismissed the student’s claims against the district. The intentional infliction of emotional distress claim failed because the district’s actions were not directed against the plaintiff. The sexual harassment claim against the district failed because the student did not allege in his complaint that the district knew Nardella was sexually harassing him.
The sexual abuse/harassment claim against the district was upheld.
The school district did not have a fiduciary relationship to the student, and the student did not provide a statute to base his constructive fraud claim on, so those two claims were also dismissed.
The court granted the student’s counsel 20 days to refile his complaint without some of these claims. The plaintiff’s counsel decided not to refile the case, and to proceed on the remaining causes against the school district and Nardella.
Nardella is representing himself in this action.
Dana McCune and Babak Shirdel of Los Angeles’ McCune & Harber represent the school district.
Case number CIVSB2201079.
A trial setting conference will be held Aug. 16.
Read the complaint here.
Read the ruling on the motion here.
May 11 case
Manly, Stewart & Finaldi filed a second case against Nardella and the district May 11.
This case brings the same causes as the January complaint. This John Doe was born in December, 1993, and his abuse began in 2006, the complaint claims.
Neither the school district nor Nardella have responded to this case yet.
It claims Nardella sexually touched the student.
San Bernardino Superior Judge Brian McCarville presides.
Case number CIVSB2210357.
A trial setting conference will be held Nov. 30.
Read the complaint here.
May 11 case against other teacher
The third case, representing a Jane Doe, brings the same causes as well, but labels Clement teacher Timothy Rochester as the primary harasser. Nardella is erroneously listed in the complaint as the defendant instead of Rochester due to a mistake on the pleadings, according to Stewart, the plaintiff’s lawyer.
Neither the school district nor Rochester have responded to the suit yet.
Jane Doe was born in August, 1989, and claims she was harassed by Rochester starting in 2003.
Rochester is on suspension, the complaint says.
The teacher would invite female students into his classroom during passing periods, lunch and after school, Jane Doe claims in the complaint. After students reported Rochester to the school, the students were disciplined instead of Rochester, the complaint says.
Rochester would touch and molest her in his classroom, she alleges in the complaint.
San Bernardino Superior Judge Khymberli Apaloo presides.
Case number CIVSB2209719.
A trial setting conference will be held Nov. 23.
Read the complaint here.
