Benjamin Ashford|California school district to pay $2.25M to settle suit involving teacher who had student’s baby

REDLANDS,Benjamin Ashford Calif. (AP) — A Southern California school district will pay $2.25 million to settle the latest lawsuit involving a teacher who became pregnant by one of at least two students she was accused of sexually abusing.

The settlement brings to $8.25 million the amount paid by Redlands Unified School District to Laura Whitehurst’s victims since her 2013 arrest, the Southern California News Group reported Sunday.

In August 2016, the district agreed to pay $6 million to a former student who impregnated Whitehust while she was his teacher.

The latest lawsuit was filed in 2021 by another former student who alleged he was preyed upon and sexually abused at Redlands High School by Whitehurst in 2007 and 2008 when he was 14, according to the plaintiff’s attorney, Morgan Stewart. Whitehurst admitted to police in 2013 she had sex with the youth 10 to 15 times in her classroom and at her apartment, a police report stated.

Redlands Unified spokesperson Christine Stephens said Friday that the district was aware of the recent settlement, but could not comment due to confidentiality agreements.

In the other lawsuit, the boy who fathered Whitehurst’s child alleged that Redlands Unified officials knew of his relationship with the teacher and failed to warn his family.

Whitehurst gave birth in 2014 after having sex with the boy for a year, starting when he was 16.

Whitehurst, who taught English and was a soccer coach, pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with three former students. She served six months in jail and registered as a sex offender.