Latest news with #CaliforniaChildVictim'sAct
The Herald Scotland
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Byron Scott, ex-NBA star, sued for sexual battery, false imprisonment
According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the woman accuses the now 64-year-old Scott of sexual battery and false imprisonment. The original lawsuit was filed in 2022 under the California Child Victim's Act, which extended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors to file civil claims. Scott sought to keep his name out of the documents and requested to use "John Doe." The lawsuit says the Lakers were visiting the accuser's high school, Campbell Hall High in Los Angeles, where she was taking summer classes, after which she "was sexually assaulted by Byron Scott in a locked janitor's closet in the high school gymnasium." The team was at the school filming instructional basketball videos in the gym and met with the parents, students and teachers. "Our client is devastated by this complaint," Scott's attorney Linda Bauermeister said in a statement. "Our client believed the plaintiff to be over 18 and had no idea she would claim otherwise until 35 years later. He respects girls and women, and the claims have blindsided him and his family." Bauermeister says her client thought the girl was of legal age and doesn't deny that the sexual activity occurred. Campbell Hall High School is also named as a defendant, and the lawsuit accuses the institution of negligence for not protecting the accuser. The lawsuit demands a jury trial and $25,000 for damages, payment of attorney fees, and loss of wages to be paid by Scott and the high school. Scott played for the Lakers from 1983 to 1993, winning three NBA championships during the "Showtime" era, and finished his career with the team in 1996-97. He was married to his first wife, Anita, with whom he had three children, at the time of the incident. He has since divorced and remarried. He also played for the Indiana Pacers and then Vancouver Grizzlies, and after his playing days were over, coached with the New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers.
USA Today
08-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Lakers star Byron Scott sued, accused of sexually assaulting teen girl in 1987
Former Lakers star Byron Scott sued, accused of sexually assaulting teen girl in 1987 Former NBA player and coach Byron Scott is facing a lawsuit from a woman who says he sexually assaulted her in 1987 during an event at her high school. The accuser was 15 at the time, and Scott was 26. According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the woman accuses the now 64-year-old Scott of sexual battery and false imprisonment. The original lawsuit was filed in 2022 under the California Child Victim's Act, which extended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors to file civil claims. Scott sought to keep his name out of the documents and requested to use "John Doe." The lawsuit says the Lakers were visiting the accuser's high school, Campbell Hall High in Los Angeles, where she was taking summer classes, after which she "was sexually assaulted by Byron Scott in a locked janitor's closet in the high school gymnasium." The team was at the school filming instructional basketball videos in the gym and met with the parents, students and teachers. "Our client is devastated by this complaint," Scott's attorney Linda Bauermeister said in a statement. "Our client believed the plaintiff to be over 18 and had no idea she would claim otherwise until 35 years later. He respects girls and women, and the claims have blindsided him and his family." Bauermeister says her client thought the girl was of legal age and doesn't deny that the sexual activity occurred. Campbell Hall High School is also named as a defendant, and the lawsuit accuses the institution of negligence for not protecting the accuser. The lawsuit demands a jury trial and $25,000 for damages, payment of attorney fees, and loss of wages to be paid by Scott and the high school. Scott played for the Lakers from 1983 to 1993, winning three NBA championships during the "Showtime" era, and finished his career with the team in 1996-97. He was married to his first wife, Anita, with whom he had three children, at the time of the incident. He has since divorced and remarried. He also played for the Indiana Pacers and then Vancouver Grizzlies, and after his playing days were over, coached with the New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Lakers star Byron Scott is accused of sexually assaulting a girl 38 years ago
Former Lakers player and head coach Byron Scott is accused in a lawsuit obtained by The Times of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student at Studio City Campbell Hall High School in 1987. The former student alleges that Scott escorted her into a janitor's closet and that according to the lawsuit he "began kissing her on the mouth as she repeatedly asked 'what are you doing?' "Then, despite her clear protests, Scott pushed [her] to her knees, and, against her will, pulled off her top. Scott then pulled down his shorts, exposed his erect penis, and tried to force [her] to perform oral sex on him." The lawsuit originally was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Dec. 30, 2022, but Scott was referred to as "John Doe," the Lakers as "one of the most popular NBA franchise teams" and Campbell Hall as "Private School Doe." An amended complaint filed May 1 named Scott, the Lakers and Campbell Hall after a judge denied objections by Scott that he shouldn't be identified because he is a public figure and that there wasn't evidence to corroborate the woman's claims. The plaintiff is named in her lawsuit but The Times doesn't publish the names of alleged sexual assault victims. She came forward after the California Child Victim's Act took effect in 2020, extending the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil claims against their abusers. "Like many victims of childhood sexual assault, [she] was resigned to deal with the trauma privately, with only few close to her and a handful of mental professionals knowing what occurred on that summer day," the lawsuit states. Read more: An older and wiser Byron Scott is still all business "Then, Governor Newsom passed the California Child Victim's Act, which revived [her] claims against the former professional athlete and the elite Los Angeles private school, and perhaps others. And while still a difficult decision to come forward now and relive the trauma, [she] is bravely doing so to shine a light and to seek some amount of justice and hopefully closure for the significant psychological trauma and emotional distress that she has experienced every day since the sexual assault." Scott's attorney, Linda Bauermeister, issued a statement to The Times: "Our client is devastated by this complaint, a basketball event that took place in 1987. Our client believed the plaintiff to be over 18 and had no idea she would claim otherwise until 35 years later. He respects girls and women, and the claims have blindsided him and his family." Scott was 26 when a handful of Lakers players and officials filmed an instructional training video in the Campbell Hall gym. According to the complaint, the alleged victim was left alone with adults during a break and struck up a conversation with Scott. They ate lunch together and she gave him a tour of school facilities. They soon were alone and, according to the complaint, Scott "forcefully grabbed [her] by the arm and pulled her inside the room." The complaint says she had "never kissed a boy." The complaint blames the school for creating the circumstances for the sexual assault, saying, "Campbell Hall faculty and staff failed to take any steps or implement any safeguards to supervise or otherwise protect Plaintiff from anything that could, and eventually would, happen to her." "… she continues to suffer, severe psychological and emotional distress, as well as feelings of embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, shame, and humiliation," the lawsuit states. Read more: How Byron Scott found out he got fired from the Lakers and what he plans to do next Scott, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended Inglewood Morningside High, began his fifth season with the Lakers, with whom he spent 11 of his 14 NBA seasons and won three championships, in 1987. He went on to coach five NBA teams over 15 seasons, including the Lakers from 2014 to 2016. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
07-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Former Lakers star Byron Scott is accused of sexually assaulting a girl 38 years ago
Former Lakers player and head coach Byron Scott is accused in a lawsuit obtained by The Times of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student at Studio City Campbell Hall High School in 1987. The former student alleges that Scott escorted her into a janitor's closet and that according to the lawsuit he 'began kissing her on the mouth as she repeatedly asked 'what are you doing?' 'Then, despite her clear protests, Scott pushed [her] to her knees, and, against her will, pulled off her top. Scott then pulled down his shorts, exposed his erect penis, and tried to force [her] to perform oral sex on him.' The lawsuit originally was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Dec. 30, 2022, but Scott was referred to as 'John Doe,' the Lakers as 'one of the most popular NBA franchise teams' and Campbell Hall as 'Private School Doe.' An amended complaint filed May 1 named Scott, the Lakers and Campbell Hall after a judge denied objections by Scott that he shouldn't be identified because he is a public figure and that there wasn't evidence to corroborate the woman's claims. The plaintiff is named in her lawsuit but The Times doesn't publish the names of alleged sexual assault victims. She came forward after the California Child Victim's Act took effect in 2020, extending the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil claims against their abusers. 'Like many victims of childhood sexual assault, [she] was resigned to deal with the trauma privately, with only few close to her and a handful of mental professionals knowing what occurred on that summer day,' the lawsuit states. 'Then, Governor Newsom passed the California Child Victim's Act, which revived [her] claims against the former professional athlete and the elite Los Angeles private school, and perhaps others. And while still a difficult decision to come forward now and relive the trauma, [she] is bravely doing so to shine a light and to seek some amount of justice and hopefully closure for the significant psychological trauma and emotional distress that she has experienced every day since the sexual assault.' Scott's attorney, Linda Bauermeister, issued a statement to The Times: 'Our client is devastated by this complaint, a basketball event that took place in 1987. Our client believed the plaintiff to be over 18 and had no idea she would claim otherwise until 35 years later. He respects girls and women, and the claims have blindsided him and his family.' Scott was 26 when a handful of Lakers players and officials filmed an instructional training video in the Campbell Hall gym. According to the complaint, the alleged victim was left alone with adults during a break and struck up a conversation with Scott. They ate lunch together and she gave him a tour of school facilities. They soon were alone and, according to the complaint, Scott 'forcefully grabbed [her] by the arm and pulled her inside the room.' The complaint says she had 'never kissed a boy.' The complaint blames the school for creating the circumstances for the sexual assault, saying, 'Campbell Hall faculty and staff failed to take any steps or implement any safeguards to supervise or otherwise protect Plaintiff from anything that could, and eventually would, happen to her.' '… she continues to suffer, severe psychological and emotional distress, as well as feelings of embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, shame, and humiliation,' the lawsuit states. Scott, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended Inglewood Morningside High, began his fifth season with the Lakers, with whom he spent 11 of his 14 NBA seasons and won three championships, in 1987. He went on to coach five NBA teams over 15 seasons, including the Lakers from 2014 to 2016.
