In October of 2020, SAUSD paid 2.2 million dollars to the families of six boys who were sexually abused by a former Segerstrom baseball coach, Carlos Salcito Sales Jr.

Former student Vivian Soto states, “Well, in my honest opinion, everyone who is at the head at SAUSD needs to be removed, replaced, and should be held accountable for trying to cover up a sexual abuse story. Families and parents send their children to school with the expectation that their children are going to remain safe, but when you come down to the truth, no one really knows what goes on behind closed doors. It’s not just students who are committing these crimes, It’s sports’ coaches, their administrators, but it could also happen to anyone. it’s just the matter of taking down the people that are doing it, rather than to shut down the cases, and to try to cover it up in order for sports games’ sales go up.”

The lawsuit, filed in 2017, was a case that was part of a coaching problem that continues to happen at Segerstrom. Coaches were being hired and not having background checks. This led to several cases of students over many years being covered up by the school. Carlos Sales was one of three Segerstrom High coaches accused of sexual misconduct during an 18-month period.

“As a freshman, it’s scary to think the school tried to cover it up or didn’t address what happened to the students. I hope Segerstrom staff becomes more vocal about the case and allows students access to what is going on,” stated Camila Perez (9).

The lawsuit argued that several school officials knew about what was going on but took no action to stop it. 

Erasmo Ramirez, Segerstrom’s varsity baseball head coach for the past ten years, stated that he received no complaints from players that Sales was being inappropriate with his team. He learned of Sales’ actions after he was arrested.