Law Firm of Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard Sues San Francisco Unified School District over Childhood Sexual Abuse Claim

Lawsuit alleges that the SFUSD failed to supervise former Lowell High School teacher and counselor Harlan Edelman

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The law firm of Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard is announcing the filing of a childhood sexual abuse lawsuit against the San Francisco Unified School District. The lawsuit alleges that former Lowell High School teacher and counselor Harlan Edelman was not properly supervised, resulting in the sexual abuse of a student identified as John Doe.

The lawsuit claims that starting during the 2004-2005 school year, Edelman began the process of “grooming” Doe to gain his trust in order to sexually violate him. Edelman, under the guise of helping Doe raise his grades, began to give Doe rides home along with buying him meals and gifts. With school officials turning a blind-eye to Edelman’s behavior, he is alleged to have abused Doe on the Lowell High School campus, including in his office and classroom.

Doe believed that Edelman had a lot of clout at Lowell High School and could help him achieve his academic goals. Lowell High School is one of the best high schools in the country and historically has test scores ranking among the Top 10 Public Schools in California.

In late 2008, Doe reportedly sought treatment for the effects of the abuse, disclosing for the first time what happened to him.

Following his tenure at Lowell High School, Edelman went on to teach at the SFUSD Academy of Arts and Sciences and was an employee of San Francisco Unified School District until his resignation in September of 2013.

In 2014, Edelman was arrested in a sting operation by a Mountain View police officer posing as a 17-year-old boy on a gay website. Edelman arranged to meet him for sex. Edelman pled guilty and was convicted of knowingly distributing and/or sending harmful matter that depicts a minor engaging in sexual conduct with the intent of arousing and/or appealing to sexual desires or for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts. As a result of the news reports, John Doe came forward again and told his story to Mountain View police.

Edelman passed away in 2018. The law firm of Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard is encouraging those with information about Edelman to call the law firm at 408-289-1417.