Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Parents: SJUSD Warned About Teacher



SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Five parents filing a claim against the San Juan Unified School District allege school employees failed to act on warnings and concerns about an after-school program teacher who's accused of sexually abusing their boys.

Shane Vicars was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of lewd acts against a child under 14 and child annoyance. He was a teacher for the Discovery Club, a before- and after-school program at Sierra Oaks Elementary.

According to a claim filed Thursday, another parent, Kira Christensen, sent a letter in October 2008 to Discovery Club supervisor Debra Brown, expressing concerns about Vicars' activities with children.

Specifically, Christensen found it odd that Vicars gave up his lunch hour every day to play with children at recess, taking some children to an out-of-view equipment shed; that he showed up uninvited at children's sports events every weekend on his free time; and that he often took photos of children.