In what is reportedly the largest settlement of its kind, the state of California will pay $14 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a former student at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont who allegedly experienced years of sexual abuse by a former employee who had a history of similar complaints.

The California School for the Deaf is a state-run boarding school for 400 deaf students ages three to 21 from 46 counties in Northern and Central California. Nearly all of the school’s employees, students and staff are deaf or hard of hearing. The program is free for families and students’ education is mostly covered by the state, with the remainder funded by students’ home school districts.

The California Department of Education said in a statement, “Student safety remains a top priority for the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California State Special Schools, which includes the California School for the Deaf, Fremont (CSDF). Since learning of these incidents, CSDF has taken additional protective measures for students, such as increasing residential staffing and providing additional training for residential staff. CSDF has also expanded monitoring capabilities through the installation of more security cameras around building exteriors, helping to ensure safe, supportive learning environments for current and future students.”

In February 2018, school employee Ricardo Rose was arrested on suspicion of child molestation and criminal threats involving at least one victim. Rose had been a state employee since 1989 and was on paid administrative leave from his position as a counselor and dorm attendant at the school.

In 2022, Rose pleaded no contest to one felony burglary charge and one misdemeanor charge of child molestation. Attempts to reach Rose were not immediately successful

Dave Ring, one of the attorneys for the former student, who filed a lawsuit in 2018 and was referred to as John Doe, said Rose’s employment at the school was marked by repeated complaints of misconduct, including that he was inappropriate with the children he supervised at the school.

The lawsuit alleged that multiple reports about Rose’s inappropriate relationships with students were reported to the California School for the Deaf before Doe enrolled at the school in 2009 and that those complaints went unaddressed and were covered up for decades, until Doe came forward in 2018 to report his abuse.

“We learned that for 30 years, this California School for the Deaf employee was hurting students and intimidating and threatening CSD employees,” Ring said. “Despite repeated red flags, the school kept him employed and allowed him to be alone with vulnerable, deaf students.”

The lawsuit alleged the student —10-years-old at the time — was abused by Rose at night in his dorm beginning in 2009 and that the abuse ended only when Doe left the school in 2011. The lawsuit said during the abuse, Rose signed to Doe that he would “bite (Doe’s) fingers off” if he told anyone about the abuse.

Ring said Doe did not disclose the abuse until he was an adult, which led to Rose’s arrest. Ring said he wasn’t aware of any lawsuits involving other alleged victims.

Ring said the $14 million settlement — reached last week — with the California School for the Deaf and the California Department of Education is the largest known sexual abuse settlement for an individual plaintiff against the state of California.

Ring said the state did not admit fault for the incident but the settlement amount “speaks for itself.” He said the settlement also included demands for changes to the school’s reporting and investigating procedures.

“I’m very, very proud of the victim we represented,” Ring said. “He got justice for himself and he hopefully brought about some changes at the school…This is why we’re lawyers. This is a case that brings you a lot of satisfaction and feeling that you bring about change and you’re doing what’s right and you’ve really helped out a young man who was very deserving.”