Santiago continued to teach for nearly a decade before he was charged with sexually abusing 10 students at Adelante.
The latest lawsuit alleges that school staff and the district’s current interim superintendent, Imee Almazan, were not only aware of Santiago’s inappropriate behavior but also chose not to notify the police.
Superintendent Almazan declined to comment.
The attorney for the victims, Morgan Stewart, said Santiago should have “unequivocally” been reported to authorities. All mandatory reporters are required by law to report all known or suspected cases of child abuse or neglect.
“This is a clear conspiracy to cover this up, keep it quiet, not report it to the police,” Stewart said. “He’s touching females. He’s making them uncomfortable. He’s acting in a sexually inappropriate manner with 12- and 13-year-olds. And there’s a direction from the superintendent not to call the police on that.”
Almazan was the principal at Sheppard Middle School in 2014 when she completed an investigation into complaints against Santiago. After interviewing 15 students, Almazan found “an overall discomfort and/or feeling of insecurity in Mr. Santiago’s band class among female students that were interviewed.”
Among other allegations referenced in the investigative report by the school, Santiago was accused of physically moving a female student by holding her head and shoulders, touching a female student at her waist to move her, and asking a parent to drop off his child at his house. Almazan recommended Santiago be transferred out of Sheppard Middle School, records show.
The lawsuit alleges former Alum Rock superintendent Stephen Fiss instructed staff not to call law enforcement in response to the complaints.
“Superintendent Fiss did not want me to contact the police regarding this matter at this time,” reads a draft for an investigative report prepared by the school included in the suit.
Next to those instructions is a handwritten note reading, “Delete.”
Fiss could not be reached for comment.
The former principal at Adelante, Maria Gutierrez, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. In a statement provided by her attorney, Gutierrez argues she blew the whistle on Santiago and was terminated after doing what was necessary to protect the children.
“Ms. Gutierrez looks forward to all of the legal claims playing out in court because the facts will demonstrate that Alum Rock has an entrenched history of doing what is politically best for them, and not what is best for students and families,” the statement reads.
