New details emerge on alleged sexual predator who worked at Fresno Unified elementary school
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FRESNO, California (KFSN) — Action News has learned new details about an alleged sexual predator on an elementary school campus.
Fresno police arrested the suspect last June.
Terry McCoy’s arrest in June 2020 sent a shock wave through the Viking Elementary School community.
The 44-year-old served as a noontime assistant and a coach at the school, working for Fresno Unified for 16 years before his arrest.
Prosecutors charged him with three felony sex counts, including one specifying the victim was younger than 14.
Now, the victim has filed a lawsuit claiming the school district was negligent in hiring, training, and supervising McCoy.
“Did they watch him closely enough to ensure nothing like this could happen?” asked legal analyst Tony Capozzi. “And if there was something to give some kind of an indication there might be inappropriate conduct, did they do something about it?”
Capozzi says the school district could be facing large financial damages if the child’s attorneys can prove allegations including false imprisonment by physical force, threats of force, menace and unreasonable duress.
McCoy has been in jail since Fresno police arrested him and his case hasn’t gotten to the point where prosecutors present any evidence.
The lawsuit names two other defendants – the city of Fresno and Fresno County.
McCoy coached sports and told police he worked at a group home for troubled kids.
Capozzi says if city or county employees witnessed something untoward, that could be the link.
“But that’s really stretching it here,” he said. “I find it very difficult to see where the city or county would be liable in this particular case.”
Action News asked one of the plaintiff’s attorneys to clarify how the city and county are liable, but he didn’t want to talk without his client’s permission.
A Fresno Unified spokesperson also declined to comment, citing the ongoing lawsuit.
But they tell us McCoy is on unpaid leave as a noontime assistant and has been dismissed as a coach.
He has a criminal court hearing scheduled for May and the dispute with the school district is scheduled for a case management conference with a judge in July.
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