POMONA, Calif. (KNX) — A former Pomona High School student who participated in the track and field team alleged she was sexually abused in the late 1990s by one coach, and witnessed a teammate being molested by another, according to a lawsuit filed last year.
That former student has since reached a settlement with the Pomona Unified School District and former coaches Brian Crichlow and Kitrick Taylor.
Taylor, 57, was a wide receiver in the NFL from 1988 to 1993, playing for the Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, and New England Patriots.
The settlement was announced Dec. 17. The plaintiff, who now resides in Riverside County and whose identity has been withheld, was 16 and 17 years of age when the alleged abuse took place. She said she was “regularly sexually abused, touched and was pressured to engage in sexual intercourse” with Crichlow while she was a member fo the girls’ track and field team.
The plaintiff alleged she was “groomed and manipulated” over the course of the school year by both Crichlow and Taylor, saying the pair plied her and fellow students with alcohol and allowed them to drive their cars.
The suit further alleged that on a trip to Las Vegas for a track meet, the plaintiff was sexually abused in one bed by Crichlow and witnessed one of her teammates being molested by Taylor in an adjacent bed.
Pomona Unified teachers and administrators "had numerous warnings and information that caused each of them to know, or reasonably suspect, the plaintiff was a victim of child abuse/molestation/harassment," the suit said. The district also "turned a blind eye" to the alleged misconduct of Taylor to protect the prestige the school enjoyed by having a former NFL player working there, the plaintiff alleged.
Had Pomona Unified investigated Crichlow and Taylor's backgrounds, they would have "discovered conduct that would have deemed them unfit to work with minors," the suit further alleged.
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