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PFAU COCHRAN VERTETIS AMALA

Clovis Unified School District Sued for Serial Sexual Abuse of Second-Grade Students by Former Teacher

Jun 17, 2025 | Firm News, News, Sexual Abuse

PRESS RELEASE

Lawsuit alleges school district ignored students’ complaints for years
and failed to protect them from repeated sexual abuse 

FRESNO, CALIFORNIA – Today, attorneys at Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (“PCVA”) filed a lawsuit on behalf of five former Clovis Unified School District (CUSD) elementary students who allege they were sexually abused by former Fancher Creek Elementary School teacher Neng Yang.

The lawsuit alleges each of the female students were sexually abused by Yang at Fancher Creek Elementary School between 1998-2005, while each plaintiff was a student in his second grade class. Each of the women claim they were seven to eight years old at the time that Yang allegedly abused them on the campus of Fancher Creek.

According to the complaint, Yang abused the women in multiple ways, including groping their bodies, fondling their genitals, and coercing some of them to engage in oral sex, which he allegedly called a “lollipop game.”

The lawsuit names Clovis Unified School District and Fancher Creek Elementary School as defendants because the school district and school allegedly received multiple complaints about Yang abusing his students, going back to the 1998 to 1999 school year.

According to the complaint, during the 1998 to 1999 school year, one of the women complained to school officials that Yang was sexually abusing her.  In response, the lawsuit claims that school officials accused the woman, who was seven years old at the time, of lying and sent her to psychological treatment. The woman alleges nothing was done to protect her from Yang and she remained in his classroom, where he continued to abuse her.

Samantha Munoz, another one of the plaintiffs, alleges that school officials later learned that Mr. Yang was showing her child pornography on his phone at school, but nothing was done.  “I was in Mr. Yang’s second grade class in the 2004 to 2005 school year.  When a teacher saw him showing me child pornography on his phone, school officials interrogated me and then encouraged me to say nothing.  I was left in his classroom and he kept abusing me.” Munoz says she was shocked to find out that another girl claims she complained about Yang years earlier:  “As a result of coming forward about what happened to me, I learned that another girl apparently complained about Mr. Yang abusing her years before me.  To say I’m shocked is an understatement.  It looks like school officials allowed him to abuse kids in his class for more than a decade until he was finally arrested for abusing one of them.  ”

The lawsuit claims that the school officials who allegedly received complaints about Yang were mandatory reporters of suspected child sexual abuse under California law.  Despite that law, the women allege school officials never reported Yang to the authorities, including law enforcement.

“School officials have been mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse for decades.  They are mandatory reporters because they are often in the best position to see suspected abuse and to report it so it stops.  This case illustrates why.  Instead of reporting Yang and protecting their students, it appears school officials blamed the girls, looked the other way, and enabled Yang to abuse their students for over a decade,” said Jason Amala, an attorney for the women and partner at PCVA Law.  

The complaint alleges Yang was not terminated until 2012, when police discovered videos of him molesting a minor student on his cell phone.  Yang was subsequently charged in Fresno Superior Court with 45 counts of sexual abuse of a minor and later indicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. In 2014, Yang was sentenced to 38 years in prison for producing child pornography.

In the News

Fox 26 News (Video): Former teacher Neng Yang accused of abusing students at Fancher Creek before 2012 arrest (June 23, 2025)
Fresno Bee: California school district faces sex abuse lawsuit. Did L.A.’s $4-billion payout open floodgates? (June 19, 2025)

About PCVA Law

Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA) is one of the leading law firms in the United States fighting for the rights of sexually exploited children. If you or someone you know has been or is believed to be the victim of sexual abuse while in the care of an institution, we encourage you to speak to a PCVA lawyer for free by completing our online form or calling us at (253) 777-0799 and (206) 462-4334.

Since 2009, PCVA has represented thousands of abuse survivors with cases against major institutions like the Catholic Church, the Church of Latter-Day Saints, the Boy Scouts of America, schools, foster care organizations, and more. The firm also represented multiple women who were sold for sex as children on Backpage.com and whose claims resulted in the seizure and closure of that website by federal authorities.

Our Case Results

PCVA has a longstanding history of holding abusive organizations accountable for violating their positions of authority and exploiting individuals. Below, you’ll find links to some of our recent case results.