Paterson to pay $325,000 to settle School 10 teacher’s aide sex abuse case
By Jayed Rahman
Published: November 18, 2019
The city’s school district will pay two women, who were sexually abused by a teacher’s aide at School 10 more than a decade and half ago, $325,000 in a settlement.
Under the settlement agreement, one woman will get $175,000 and another will get $150,000, according to public records. School board members approved the settlement on Nov. 26, 2019.
Both women were abused when they are first-graders at School 10 by teacher’s aide Herminio Lara.
Between Sept. 2002 through Jun. 2003, Lara “engaged in sexual contact” with one student. Between Sept. 2003 through Feb. 2004, Lara sexually abused the second student, according to the lawsuit.
The women filed their lawsuit against the district in 2016.
Lara was charged in Dec. 2004. In 2008, Lara was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, according to state records. He had to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.
Email: [email protected]
This report was updated on Dec. 2, 2019.