School district settles sex abuse lawsuits for $13 million

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California school district has agreed to pay $13.75 million to settle civil lawsuits over a worker who admitted molesting elementary school students. The agreement was announced Tuesday by attorneys for 10 former students from Liberty Elementary School in Riverside. The suits said the Riverside Unified School District ignored or covered up sex abuse allegations against Fernando Figueroa, a technology aide. Figueroa was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to lewd and lascivious acts involving 11 victims between 2014 and 2017. School district officials didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the settlement.