Lawsuit Filed Over Alleged Child Molesting Teacher

Written by Beatrice Karnes

A lawsuit has been filed against a Martinez man who allegedly molested children over the course of several years. Joseph Andrew Martin was a teacher at Woodside Elementary School in Concord.

Also named in the suit are Mt. Diablo School District and unnamed people who worked for the school or district who were mandated by law to report the suspected molestations.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of a child who was in Martin’s class during the 2009 – 2010 school year.

Martin is charged with 91 felony counts for the alleged molestation of 11 students between 2009 – 2013. He’s being held on $10 million bail.

The child for whom this lawsuit was filed is not one of the 11 children allegedly molested by Martin. Martin is accused of giving back rubs to the child, which the suit claims was his way of “grooming” the kids for further, inappropriate touching.

The parents went to the principal with concerns, according to the suit, but their concerns were brushed-off.

In one particularly bizarre incident cited in the lawsuit, at the end of a school play, “Martin had the male students dress up in women’s wigs and high heels when they took their bows. This costume was not related to the play.”

The suit asks for damages for inappropriate touching, emotional distress and the  lack of action on the part of school officials.

The school district has not issued a response.