PSR attorneys Spencer Lucas, U. Sean Maneewongwathana, and Neda Saghafi have filed a civil lawsuit against Moreno Valley Unified School District (“MVUSD”) on behalf of Jane Doe, a minor, arising out of alleged sexual abuse by a campus supervising officer at Canyon Springs High School and systemic failures by the District.
“This case seeks to hold Moreno Valley Unified School District accountable for failing to fulfill its obligation to protect the students in its care from sexual predators,” said Spencer Lucas, Partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP. “When warning signs are ignored and mandatory safeguards fail, the consequences can be devastating for children and families.”
In September 2023, Jane Doe was attending Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley, California, where Richard Feliciano Romero was employed as a campus supervising officer entrusted with protecting school students and staff. MVUSD represented Romero as having been properly vetted, screened, and approved to work with children. As alleged in the complaint, Romero abused his position of authority and access to school grounds to groom and sexually harass Jane Doe, including by sending her sexually explicit material—conduct that constitutes childhood sexual assault under California law. The alleged abuse occurred on school grounds and in connection with school-related activities.
The lawsuit alleges that MVUSD knew or should have known that Romero posed a danger to students, failed to properly supervise, train, or monitor him, and failed to warn or protect students and parents, despite their legal duties. The complaint also asserts violations of California’s Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, alleging that mandated reporters failed to report suspected abuse, allowing Romero’s conduct to continue.
Richard Feliciano Romero
On December 11, 2025, Romero was arrested and booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center on charges including sodomy by force, solicitation of child sexual abuse material, and multiple additional child sexual abuse offenses.
The lawsuit asserts claims for negligence; negligent hiring, supervision, and retention; negligent supervision of a minor; failure to warn and train; and breach of mandatory duties. Through the complaint, Jane Doe seeks damages and other relief permitted under California law in an amount to be determined at trial.
This isn’t the first time Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LPP attorneys have sought justice against MVUSD for victims of alleged sexual abuse by one of its employees.
In 2023, PSR attorneys Brian Panish, Spencer Lucas, and Diana Panish went to trial against the Moreno Valley Unified School District where they obtained a $135 million jury verdict for two former MVUSD students who were sexually abused by their teacher, Thomas Lee West, and failed by the school district entrusted to protect them. For 20 years, the school district employed child predator West as a teacher, despite having actual notice of numerous child molestation complaints against him dating back to 1988.