Were You Abused as a Student at Taylor Middle School?

Attorneys, Kristen Vierhaus and Bobby Thompson of TLO Law, P.C. filed a civil lawsuit in San Mateo County Superior Court on behalf of two Jane Doe plaintiffs alleging that former Taylor Middle School teacher Ethel Molina sexually abused and harassed minor female students and that school officials failed to respond after receiving reports of the misconduct. (Jane Doe #1 (A.M), et al. v. Millbrae School District, Case No. 21-CIV-00482).

According to the complaint, Ethel Molina was employed during the 2013–2014 school year as a seventh-grade Spanish and math teacher at Taylor Middle School, part of the Millbrae School District. The lawsuit alleged that throughout the school year, Molina repeatedly engaged in sexual abuse and inappropriate touching of multiple female students, including the two Jane Doe plaintiffs.

The complaint alleged that Molina regularly required individual female students to remain alone with her after class under the pretense of completing classroom tasks. According to the lawsuit, Molina used these situations to position herself physically close to the students and touch, pinch, and grope intimate areas of their bodies. The complaint further alleged that Molina also engaged in inappropriate touching during class time, sometimes in the presence of other students.

Toward the end of the school year, the lawsuit alleged that approximately four to five female students went to the school office and reported Molina’s conduct to multiple school employees. Despite receiving these reports, Taylor Middle School allegedly failed to notify parents, failed to report the abuse to law enforcement, and failed to take steps to remove Molina from contact with students. Instead, according to the complaint, administrators allowed Molina to remain employed and continue teaching, allegedly stating that she was “not coming back next year anyway.”

The lawsuit alleged that this failure to act resulted in continued abuse and emotional harm to students who had already come forward. The complaint further alleged that the school and District’s response violated mandatory reporting obligations and its duty to protect students from known or suspected sexual misconduct by school employees.

The complaint also references a prior incident involving Taylor Middle School, alleging a pattern of institutional failure to protect students from sexual abuse. According to the lawsuit, in 2016, a Taylor Middle School teacher, Heather Amanda Butts, was arrested in San Mateo County Superior Court for engaging in a sexual relationship with a student that began while the victim attended Taylor Middle School and continued for several years thereafter (The People of the State of California vs. Heather Amanda Butts, Case No. 16-NF-010024-A-HTA).

In 2023, a separate teacher at Taylor Middle School was arrested and criminally charged in San Mateo County Superior Court following a law enforcement investigation (The People of the State of California vs. Matthew Haggman Garrett, Case No. 23-NF-006345-A and 25-SF-018296-A). Authorities alleged that Matthew Garrett, then a sixth-grade teacher at the school, sexually assaulted a female student between November 2021 and March 2022. The investigation further uncovered allegations that Garrett engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with multiple children dating back as early as 2007. Prosecutors charged Garrett with 22 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child, involving 12 Jane Doe victims.

These separate cases, nonetheless, highlight broader concerns about student safety, institutional oversight, and the importance of timely reporting and intervention when allegations of educator misconduct arise.

The Jane Doe plaintiffs are represented by victims’ rights attorneys Bobby Thompson and Kristen Vierhaus of TLO Law, P.C. in Burlingame, California. The lawsuit seeks accountability for the alleged abuse and for the school’s failure to respond to reports of sexual misconduct involving minor students. The civil matter has since been resolved through settlement.

Anyone with information regarding Ethel Molina or other incidents of sexual abuse or inappropriate conduct involving teachers or employees of Taylor Middle School or the Millbrae School District is encouraged to contact TLO Law, P.C. at 650-513-6111. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse and their families may have legal rights and are encouraged to seek confidential legal guidance.

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