Whitehurst was eventually arrested in 2013 following a complaint from the victim’s parents, who said she had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with their son, Redlands Daily Facts reports.
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Laura Whitehurst was arrested back in 2013, after she gave birth to a daughter and it was discovered the daughter was the product of a year-long sexual affair with a 17-year-old student.
The lawsuit brought by one of her victims, who can not be named for legal reasons, had claimed one of Whitehurst’s colleagues knew of the pair’s relationship and that school officials had even questioned Whitehurst when she became pregnant.
Whitehurst, now 29, pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with three former students.
The boy, who can not be named, was paid $6 million by the local school district in Redlands, California, on Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported. The firm has represented more than 150 victims of clergy sexual abuse in California and hundreds of others throughout the United States.
But through the settlement, the district admits no wrongdoing, and places all blame on the teen-loving teacher. The pair had sexual intercourse on a number of occasions in her apartment following the trip.
DeLapp feared a jury “looking past the facts” to find a “financial scapegoat for the unprofessional, criminal actions of one individual”.
Laura Whitehurst served less than a year for having sex with her students.
Vince Finaldi, an attorney for the student, said Redlands Unified School District “turned a blind eye” to the teacher’s conduct, the Times reported.
According to the website, two former Redlands High School students – where Whitehurst previously worked – came forward with their own allegations against the teacher.
The former student, now aged 21, said the relationship began in 2012 when Whitehurst began spending long periods of time with him and would drive him home from school functions.
The student claimed he was stalked bu Whitehurst prior to their relationship and that she told him she could not get pregnant.
The prosecution alleged the defendants failed to inform the boy’s family or the police about the matter, despite knowing Whitehurst was abusing the victim and other students.
“We felt there could be serious damage to the reputation of a very fine school district if the plaintiff’s lawyers were allowed to drag the district and its employees through the mud all over again”, Mr DeLapp said. Forty-one felony charges.
The settlement follows a $505,000 payout in an alleged sexual abuse case involving a teacher and student in 2013.
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As if that weren’t a weird enough series of events, she even gave him a Bible on his 17th birthday and took him to church, he said.
