Three more former Simi High students sue district for coach sexual abuse
Three former Simi Valley High School athletes who say they were sexually abused by a former coach are suing Simi Valley Unified School District, saying school staff didn't do enough to protect them from someone the district had reason to believe was a threat.
The trio, identified in the joint suit as John NT Doe, John BA Doe and John SJ Doe, is seeking unspecified damages and attorney fees from both the former coach, Bijan Nickroo, and the school district. Two met Nickroo as members of the Simi Valley High football team and the third as a member of the lacrosse team, and the abuse was purported to happen between 2014 and 2018, according to the lawsuit.
Nickroo, the school’s head lacrosse coach and an assistant football coach from 2012 to 2019, was convicted in December of more than 30 sex crimes committed against children, including oral copulation with a minor under 16 and possession of child pornography.
He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to five years in state prison, including credit for two years of time served in county jail. He was released from prison on parole May 2, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
More: Victim of coach's sexual abuse sues Simi Valley school district
For years, Nickroo "catfished" teen boys, including a number of Simi High students, by inventing online profiles for fake individuals on social media and dating apps to connect with the boys and then ask for nude photos and videos.
Police identified 28 such victims during their investigation. Three of those, all now in their 20s, joined in a lawsuit against Nickroo and the district submitted in Ventura County Superior Court on Monday.
The new filing mirrors a similar April lawsuit from a different Simi Valley High student, then 14, whom Nickroo sexually assaulted after contacting him on an app and soliciting nude photos and videos. That suit is still under litigation in Ventura County Superior Court.
Jake Finch, a Simi Valley Unified spokesperson, said the district has yet to receive notice about the new suit.
Morgan Stewart, one of the attorneys behind the latest lawsuit, said he believed the district didn't have proper supervision over the former coach and didn't have proper communication policies in place with individual athletes.
"(Nickroo) targeted Simi Valley High and used his position to get to students," Stewart said. "He used those teams as his target pool."
School staff missed red flags, he said, including times when Nickroo touched the three boys on their butts or chests, on occasion in the presence of other staff, and watched athletes changing in the locker room. The suit also alleges that Nickroo sometimes invited boys to "hang out" in his classroom.
"That's typically a gigantic red flag," Stewart said. "He was trying more to be a confidante and friend than a teacher or adult."
The lawsuit alleges the former coach used Instagram and Snapchat to communicate with the students. He would often send explicit photos of a woman and ask for sexually explicit photos in return.
The claims about Nickroo's on-campus activity are echoed in filings from the April suit, which alleges that Nickroo "would sit on a stool and watch the nude minor students as they got dressed," as well as give students "unwarranted and inappropriate" massages without their consent.
Both Stewart and Peter Reagan, one of the attorneys who filed the April suit, said they wouldn't be surprised if more lawsuits arise, given the number of Nickroo's victims.
"There are so many victims," Reagan said. "It's always a possibility."
Stewart said he expects more evidence of what district and school staff knew or should have known to emerge once his suit enters the discovery process. He said the three former students are still grappling with the shame and guilt connected to their abuse.
"They're struggling. Rightfully."
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Three former students sue Simi Valley Unified for coach sexual abuse
