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57-year-old Michael Guzman of California, United States, is a former history teacher and coached the girls' basketball team at Woodrow Wilson High School in El Sereno.
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of s*xual abuse and misconduct. Discretion is advised.
Last week, Michael, who recently served as the assistant principal at Gabrielino High School in San Gabriel, was placed on unpaid administrative leave after being accused of being involved in crimes against minors.
Los Angeles Times reported that on November 13, 2023, Michael Guzman was apprehended and charged with four counts of lewd acts on a child. He was released on bond three days later.
The allegations against Michael Guzman date back to over 20 years ago
Los Angeles Times reported that the allegations came after more than two decades, when two former students of Woodrow Wilson High School came forward and informed the Los Angeles Police Department of the alleged abuse.
The alleged victims, 42-year-old Maria Barajas and 38-year-old Clarissa Vizcaino, told authorities that although the alleged abuse took place years ago, they are still haunted by the memories and have sometimes caused repercussions in their subsequent adult relationships. Maria Barajas stated:
"I feel like all my life I wanted to be a mom and to be married and I'm a 42-year-old single woman without children. I came to that realization, knowing how it's because that history of mine has affected every decision I've ever made."
According to the report by the Los Angeles Times, Maria and Clarissa mentioned that they were not close friends, and their only common link was being coached by Michael Guzman.
Los Angeles Times reported that Maria and Clarissa alleged that Michael started to groom them when they were freshmen in high school, and the inappropriate interactions took place when they were between 14 and 15 years old. Clarissa Vizcaino recalled:
"I wasn't in a real relationship until my mid-20s because I was still waiting for him. Every relationship has been some sort of abusive or toxic."
According to the report by the Los Angeles Times, when the accusers reached out to authorities, they set up a call between Clarissa and the former coach in order to get a confession.
The report by the Los Angeles Times mentions that in the call, when Clarissa asked about the s*xually inappropriate interactions, Michael allegedly apologized repeatedly. However, according to Clarissa, authorities did not count that eligible for an immediate arrest:
"It was a clear confession to me. But the detective wanted more information."
The lawsuit filed by the accusers in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2022 stated that Michael Guzman was about 35 years old when the alleged abuse took place.
Michael Guzman has denied the allegations
According to the lawsuit filed by the accusers, the other staff at Woodrow Wilson High School were aware or should have been aware of the ongoing alleged misconduct, but failed to take any action.
The lawsuit stated that other teaching staff knew that Michael Guzman offered the students rides alone in his vehicle. Clarissa Vizcaino claimed that the former coach alleged that the then principal was aware of their inappropriate relationship but would not take action because the principal also had committed similar misconducts on campus.
In a statement shared with The Times, San Gabriel Unified School District Superintendent Jim Symonds said:
"Hearing that a person entrusted to work with students may have committed a crime such as this is, of course, deeply troubling and disturbing, and our thoughts are with the alleged victim or victims in this case."
As per the lawsuit, other coaches on the basketball team should have known about the malpractice as well.
