Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) School Board Candidate Graciela Ortiz and her campaign continue to minimize the trauma of a student being sexually assaulted at gunpoint.

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"Billy Valdivia eventually arranged to be alone in the vehicle with B.A., and sexually assaulted and battered her there."

- Civil Filing, Case No.: 24NVVCV00084

"the plaintiff's unfortunate occurrence, happened almost a year after my March 2020 campaign ended"

- Graciela Ortiz

There is no doubt that the former LAUSD student identifying herself as B.A. was sexually assaulted at gunpoint. Billy Valdivia was caught red-handed by the police in a sting operation while setting up an inappropriate meeting with the minor. He then pleaded nolo contendere to the "especially violent" assault and was found guilty of sexually molesting her. Because he used a gun "to intimidate and threaten the victim of the sexual battery", he also was found guilty of a firearms violation.

With the criminal justice system having already established the guilt of Billy Valdivia, the victim is now pursuing civil action against LAUSD School Board candidate Graciela Ortiz for having failed to protect her from these violent assaults. In January, B.A. filed a lawsuit against Valdivia, Ortiz, Efren Martinez (who is a close ally of Ortiz and is currently running to represent District 52 in the California Assembly), and YVote!, an astroturf organization run by both Ortiz and Martinez. The victim requested damages for sexual assault and battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.

In the age of #MeToo, Ortiz's reaction to the lawsuit should disqualify her as a representative of children on the school board of the second-largest district in the county. The lawyer she formerly shared with Martinez ignored the proven harm done to the plaintiff and described the allegations as "malicious and defamatory" as well as a carefully timed political "smear." Ortiz personally dismissed the violent act of sexual battery as nothing more than an "unfortunate occurrence".

As a defendant, Ortiz has every right to defend herself against the allegations. However, this must be done by presenting facts. Attacking a victim who has already proven that she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint is inexcusable. This is especially true when the victim was a former student of Ortiz, and trusted the LAUSD School Counselor to keep her safe.

Just before a recent court hearing where Ortiz's new lawyer asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, Michael Trujillo, the campaign spokesman she shares with Martinez, once again ignored the harm done to B.A. and declared that it was "unfortunate folks want to play politics with the court system to influence an election." He added that they "expect this case to be kicked out."

That claim sounds suspiciously like another politician's claim of "election interference" whenever someone tries to hold him accountable for allegedly committing crimes. It also seems Trujillo needs to pay attention to what has happened to Trump. The disgraced former president was made to pay E Jean Carroll $83 million for calling her a liar when she accused him of sexually assaulting her even though criminal charges were never filed. A penalty, therefore, seems called for when Trujillo makes similar allegations against a proven victim of sexual assault.

Despite Trujillo's confidence, the judge in the case ruled on Friday that Ortiz would not be excluded as a defendant. While she was dismissed from the portion of the suit that alleged she was negligent in Valdivia's hiring, training, and supervising, she will still have to answer to the claim that she did not properly protect the victim. In the words of the judge:"

"a greater degree of care is owed to children because of their lack of capacity to appreciate risk and danger."

The trial will also consider evidence that both Ortiz and Martinez "agreed to a common plan" to cover up Valdivia's actions.

With these allegations still pending and Ortiz having attacked a victim of a sexual assault, it is inconceivable that her endorsees have not joined the CSEA in retracting their support of her campaign. Yet, her list of supporters still includes SEIU 99 and the Los Angeles Democratic Party. If you agree that these organizations should withdraw their support please sign this petition.

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Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.

Authors Website: http://www.changethelausd.com/

Authors Bio:

Carl Petersen is a proud father of five adult children, including two daughters on the severe end of the Autism spectrum. A passionate advocate for special education, he ran as a Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board. Renowned education advocate Dr. Diane Ravitch has praised him as a valiant fighter for public schools. Recently, Carl relocated to the State of Washington, where he is embracing his role as Poppy to two grandsons. You can explore his insights and perspectives through his blogs at www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com.