Emery Unified School District and a former staffer are facing a new lawsuit that says the district failed, again, to protect students from repeated sexual misconduct at Emery High. The complaint alleges that a volleyball coach and campus security worker used school events and social media to groom and sexually assault multiple female students, turning everyday campus life into opportunity for abuse. Filed in Alameda County Superior Court, the case adds more heat to a growing legal fight over how the small East Bay district responded to early warning signs.
New suit describes Instagram grooming and repeated assaults
The complaint names former employee Daniel Parham and accuses him of routinely sending inappropriate electronic messages to minors on Instagram, offering rides home from practice and even taking one student to prom, where the abuse allegedly continued, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Plaintiffs say one student was assaulted "at least 50 times," most often on school grounds. The suit seeks damages from both Parham and Emery Unified, alleging negligence and failures in supervision.
Earlier complaint and alleged missed warnings
This latest filing follows a March 2024 lawsuit and, according to the attorneys, grew out of repeated reports that school staff did not act when they should have. The law firm representing the plaintiffs says colleagues saw boundary-crossing conduct, including one coach who allegedly saw Parham inappropriately touch a student, and that the principal questioned a victim but did not launch a formal district investigation. Those allegations are laid out in the complaint posted by Cerri, Boskovich & Allard.
Attorneys say school gave Parham too much latitude
"I've been doing this for 20 years, and I don't think I've seen a case where someone so brazenly, openly and obviously was using school grounds as a playground to abuse freely," plaintiffs' attorney Robert Allard told the San Francisco Chronicle. Allard also said Parham previously attended the same school and that his dual roles as coach and security guard allegedly allowed him to move through campus largely unsupervised. According to the lawyers, Parham was not removed from those roles until after his arrest in November 2023.
Criminal case ended with a plea
Parham was arrested in November 2023 after a report was made to an employee at the Emeryville Center of Community Life. Court records and reporting show he later pleaded no contest to a felony unlawful-sexual-intercourse charge and received probation along with a brief county jail term, as reported by the East Bay Times. Plaintiffs' attorneys argue that the outcome of the criminal case does not erase what they say were systemic failures by the district that allowed the abuse to continue.
Plaintiffs' claims and wider implications
The civil complaint asks a judge to hold Emery Unified liable for negligent supervision and alleges that staff members repeatedly looked the other way when confronted with troubling behavior. The law firm points to prior campus safety concerns, including earlier claims that district employees failed to report assaults, and argues that the shared-use design of the Emeryville Center of Community Life makes clear chains of responsibility even more critical. Cerri, Boskovich & Allard says this case could ultimately force a broader review of district policies and practices.
What's next
The new lawsuit is pending in Alameda County Superior Court and is expected to open up discovery into the district's hiring, supervision and mandated reporting practices. Emery Unified officials have not responded to media requests for comment, and the district has not announced any systemwide changes tied to the litigation so far. Plaintiffs' attorneys say they plan to press for accountability as the case moves forward.
