Sex abuse lawsuits in San Francisco have surged since 2020, driven by a state law that reopened decades-old claims. The three largest fronts are the San Francisco Unified School District, which has paid multimillion-dollar settlements over abuse by teachers and staff; the City and County of San Francisco, which settled a camp abuse case for $900,000; and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 after being named in 537 claims.
Why So Many Old Claims Are Being Filed Now
California Assembly Bill 218, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 13, 2019, and effective January 1, 2020, extended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims to age 40 or five years from discovery of a psychological injury, whichever comes later.1LegiScan. California AB 218 More consequentially, it opened a three-year revival window from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022, during which previously time-barred claims could be filed no matter how old.2Keenan. AB 218 Expanded Statute of Limitations for Civil Suits Arising Out of Childhood Sexual Assault
The law also allows treble damages where a plaintiff proves a defendant covered up abuse, and it exempted childhood sexual abuse claims from the notice requirements of the Government Tort Claims Act, removing a procedural shield public entities like school districts had relied on.1LegiScan. California AB 2182Keenan. AB 218 Expanded Statute of Limitations for Civil Suits Arising Out of Childhood Sexual Assault The revival window is what made most of the current San Francisco caseload possible.
San Francisco Unified School District Settlements
SFUSD has faced repeated suits over employee abuse dating from the 1960s through 2017.3CBA Law Firm. San Francisco Unified School District Settles Two Sexual Abuse Lawsuits for $4.5 Million Three matters stand out.
George Washington High School: $4.5 Million
In March 2024, SFUSD settled two lawsuits for a combined $4.5 million involving Lawrence Young-Yet Chan, a former athletic director at George Washington High School. Two plaintiffs, identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, alleged Chan sexually abused them between 2012 and 2016 in his locked office, a locker room, a stairwell, and a student government classroom during school hours. Chan was arrested in 2017 but released for insufficient evidence. The plaintiffs alleged the district then entered into a secret agreement letting Chan quietly resign.4Sports Law Expert. Plaintiffs Settle Lawsuits With San Francisco Unified School District After Alleging Athletic Director Abused Them
Lowell High School: $1.5 Million
In May 2025, SFUSD paid $1.5 million to a former student identified as John Doe who alleged Harlen Edelman, a teacher and counselor at Lowell High School, groomed and sexually abused him during the 2004–2005 school year. The suit alleged Edelman gained the student’s trust by improving his grades and that the abuse happened in Edelman’s office and classroom. It also alleged a second student was assaulted by another counselor that year, that Edelman helped cover it up, and that school officials failed to act despite reports from the student and his parents.5CBS News San Francisco. SFUSD $1.5M Settlement Sex Abuse Lawsuit Former Teacher Counselor Harlen Edelman Edelman resigned from SFUSD in September 2013. In February 2014, Mountain View police arrested him after he allegedly posed as a teenager online and tried to arrange a meeting with a minor.6NBC Bay Area. San Francisco Teacher Arrested on Suspicion of Agreeing to Sex With Teen Bail was set at $80,000.7Mountain View Voice. MV Police Arrest Ex-Teacher in Underage Sex Sting The available records do not say whether that arrest produced a conviction.
Francisco Middle School: Pending Criminal Case
In November 2025, SFUSD paraeducator Calvin Tran was arrested on multiple felony charges alleging he sexually abused a former student at Francisco Middle School between 2015 and 2018. Tran, a part-time special education aide for the district for roughly a decade, was charged with lewd acts upon a child, continuous sexual abuse, oral copulation of a person under 14, aggravated sexual assault of a child, forcible oral copulation of a minor 14 or older, and four counts of meeting a minor for lewd purposes.8San Francisco District Attorney. Paraeducator Charged With Multiple Felonies in Connection to a Sexual Assault of a Minor His prior employment included Argonne Elementary School, community centers, a YMCA, and a church.9SF Standard. SFUSD Paraeducator Calvin Tran Sexual Abuse Arrest A judge denied bail, and arraignment was scheduled for December 3, 2025.
The Resignation-Agreement Pattern
A recurring allegation across these cases is that SFUSD let accused employees resign under confidentiality agreements that barred the district from disclosing the reasons or giving negative references. A San Francisco Youth Commission report found that over a seven-year period, more than 19 SFUSD employees accused of sexual misconduct were permitted to resign to avoid termination, and that since 2017, at least 20 employees left under those terms.10The Voice SF. SFUSD Safety Sexual Assault and Harassment
That pattern drove Senate Bill 848, the Safe Learnings Environment Act, signed October 7, 2025, and effective January 1, 2026. SB 848 bans confidential separation agreements that conceal sexual abuse or serious misconduct, requires districts to disclose investigated child-abuse allegations to prospective employers, and directs the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to build a searchable statewide database of substantiated misconduct.11Berkeley High Jacket. New CA Law on Sexual Abuse in Schools All California public and private schools must submit prevention plans by July 1, 2026, and mandatory reporter status now extends to school employees, volunteers, contractors, and board members.10The Voice SF. SFUSD Safety Sexual Assault and Harassment
City Camp Program: $900,000 Settlement
The City and County of San Francisco agreed to a $900,000 settlement in a suit alleging a city camp counselor sexually abused a child in city-run programs at John McLaren Park. The plaintiff, identified as R.C., alleged the abuse spanned two years starting when he was 14, in the late 1990s. The suit was filed in 2022, within the AB 218 revival window. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the payment on January 27, 2026, canceling a trial that had been set for September 2026.12San Francisco Chronicle. S.F. Settles $900,000 Sex Abuse Claims Reports have not named the counselor or indicated whether criminal charges were filed.
Archdiocese of San Francisco: 537 Claims and Chapter 11
The Archdiocese of San Francisco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 after being named in 537 sexual abuse lawsuits, many filed during the AB 218 revival window.13Bishop Accountability. Once-Secret Records Show How S.F. Archdiocese Handled Priests Accused of Child Sex Abuse The filing triggered an automatic stay that paused individual suits pending reorganization. Before bankruptcy, the Archdiocese and its insurers had already paid more than $70 million in abuse-related settlements.14Archdiocese of San Francisco. Statement Following Bankruptcy Court Approved Motion to Lift the Automatic Stay The claims implicate 71 of the Archdiocese’s 88 parishes, and 68 alleged perpetrators were named by more than one survivor. Nearly 40 survivors reported abuse within the last three decades.15PSZJ Law. Abuse Occurred at Eighty-One Percent of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Parishes
Records Ordered Released
On April 15, 2025, a federal bankruptcy judge ordered the Archdiocese to release 175 pages of previously confidential Independent Review Board minutes. The records showed 49 priests had been reviewed, about two dozen were cleared, and more than half of accused clergy were returned to ministry over the preceding decade.13Bishop Accountability. Once-Secret Records Show How S.F. Archdiocese Handled Priests Accused of Child Sex Abuse
Father David Ghiorso remained on the good-standing list despite five credible accusations. Fathers Lawrence Finegan and Daniel Carter were removed only in 2024, after accusations were sustained. Father Linh Tien Nguyen remained in good standing while named in a lawsuit alleging abuse between 2005 and 2008. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone acknowledged the existence of internal lists of clergy with sustained accusations at an October 2023 review board meeting, despite prior public denials. The Archdiocese continued monthly pensions, housing stipends, and therapy reimbursements to clergy with sustained findings.13Bishop Accountability. Once-Secret Records Show How S.F. Archdiocese Handled Priests Accused of Child Sex Abuse
Where the Bankruptcy Stands
As of mid-2026, the case remains in what the Archdiocese calls a mediation phase. The April 2025 order also lifted the stay in two specific cases so they can proceed to trial in state court. A final reorganization plan, including the total settlement fund and how much individual parishes will contribute, has not been set. Parishes are not themselves in bankruptcy but will need to contribute money, assets, or insurance funds to a trust to benefit from a channeling injunction shielding them from future suits.16Archdiocese of San Francisco. Chapter 11 Other California diocesan bankruptcies have taken between one and three years to resolve.
Other San Francisco Cases
In March 2024, SFPD officer Michael Herrera was convicted by a jury of sexual battery for groping a woman at an off-duty bar visit in December 2021. He faced up to a year in county jail and a ten-year sex offender registration requirement.17San Francisco District Attorney. San Francisco Police Officer Convicted of Sexual Battery for Groping a Woman in Marina District Bar
SFPD also faced a federal suit, Doe v. CCSF, alleging DNA collected from a woman during a 2016 rape investigation was later used to link her to a 2021 property crime and led to her arrest. An internal review found 17 crime victim profiles, 11 of them from rape kits, had been run as potential suspects in unrelated investigations. SFPD changed its procedures, and the state passed Senate Bill 1228, barring law enforcement from using victim DNA for any purpose beyond identifying a perpetrator in the original assault case.18Courthouse News Service. San Francisco Sued Over Use of Sex Assault Victim’s DNA to Arrest Her
A San Francisco Chronicle investigation cataloged 52 sex abuse lawsuits against Bay Area school districts involving 49 alleged perpetrators and at least 68 victims, with cases spanning 1962 to 2017. Within SFUSD, additional cases included allegations against an unnamed teacher at Balboa High School in the mid-1990s, an unnamed counselor at A.P. Giannini Middle School in 1976, and a teacher at John McLaren Early Education School in the early 1960s.19San Francisco Chronicle. Schools Sexual Abuse List Cases