For years a San Diego woman claimed her La Jolla High School teacher groped her, and newly obtained documents by our media partner Voice of San Diego back-up her claims.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Loxie Gant. “This is about a teacher that now we have documented, that they were warned and they persisted.”
The documents show Gant's complaints and numerous other allegations were recorded.
“I knew that I needed to do the right thing and in this world people aren’t willing to raise their hand and put their face out there and I’m not scared of that,” she said.
Gant shared how in 2003 she was groped by her former La Jolla High school teacher, Martin Teachworth. Gant first spoke to NBC 7 in 2017 when VOSD first published their investigation.
“He walked past me and grabbed my butt twice in a really intentional way,” she said.
Gant said 15 minutes after it happened she reported it to another teacher and then the principal. She also reported it to her parents.
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According to the documents, the principal at the time spoke with Teachworth about the incident regarding Gant.
“Everything went exactly how it should go and yet nothing still happened,” Gant said.
Documents show that more than five students reported being inappropriately touched by Teachworth between 2002 and 2003. Gant was one of them.
“I felt vindicated because I’ve been blowing this horn for so long and that no one would listen to me,” she said.
Several more students also came forward during the 2012 to 2013 school year. One instance states that Teachworth stuck his hand down a girl's pants and San Diego Unified School District officials took no action against him.
“Our entire system has failed so many of these kids on so many levels,” Gant expressed. “How can we fix these holes and these gaps that have happened to prevent something like a Larry Nassar or a Jerry Sandusky or diocese instances from happening here in San Diego?”
Gant has started a consultancy named after her daughter, Forbelle. She’s working with the District Attorney’s Office and partnering with schools and churches to change the way these allegations are handled.
“We want people to believe the victims, trust the victims, but essentially we’re not talking about what happened to us we’re talking about a systematic failure to protect students,” she explained.
The documents also show district officials considered Teachworth's actions criminal in at least one instance. District leaders also believed he engaged in a pattern of "troubling behavior."
Gant has repeatedly attended meetings and spoken to the district about Teachworth’s behavior, to no avail.
Teachworth retired from San Diego Unified School District in 2017 and his attorney told us he continues to deny any willful misconduct.
He is currently under investigation by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
His attorney told us in part, "Mr.Teachworth continues to deny any willful misconduct and is disappointed that decades-old student complaints were not brought to his attention when they were made."
“I felt very re-traumatized, unfortunately, and re-victimized by the district,” Gant said. “The molestation has paled in comparison to everything else.”
A district spokesperson told NBC 7 the documents were found following a consolidation at their office and have been provided to state investigators.
“I’m so glad I kept persisting,” said Gant.
A decision regarding Teachworth’s future will be made on April 17 by state investigators. His teaching credentials could be revoked if the committee finds the allegations to be true.
