20 hours ago
Exchange student sues Bay Area nonprofit alleging she was placed in home of an abusive ‘predator'
A Spanish exchange student has sued the private high school she attended as well as the Bay Area nonprofit that arranged the girl's experience in the U.S., alleging they negligently placed her in the home of a man with a criminal record who drugged her and sexually assaulted her.
The lawsuit, filed on Aug. 11, alleges that San Rafael-based Cultural Home International, or CHI, committed fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty by placing Claudia Gutierrez in the home of John and Roberta Woods for her educational year abroad in New Hampshire.
The suit also names Bishop Brady High School, located in Concord, N.H., claiming it failed to properly vet the host family and monitor the teen during her stay, according to the civil allegations filed in Merrimack Superior Court.
'Bishop Brady and CHI instead served Claudia up to a home she believed had a husband and wife living in it — John and Robert Woods — but which, in fact, housed only John Woods, an elderly predator with a criminal record,' according to the suit.
Roberta Woods reportedly was living in San Diego and had been for some time, Gutierrez's lawyers said.
Neither CHI nor the school responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Officials from the Diocese of Manchester, which oversees the high school, said they had not yet seen the lawsuit.
'Protecting the safety of children and young people is one of the highest priorities of the Diocese of Manchester and its schools,' officials said in a statement. 'As we were just made aware of this suit and have not been served, we are unable to comment without the opportunity for further review.'
John Woods, 78, was arrested after Gutierrez called her parents in Spain in March 2022, leaving disturbing messages reportedly while still under the influence of 'clandestine drugging,' prompting them to have friends take her to the hospital, according to her co-counsel, Matin Emouna.
An examination found she had been sexually assaulted and drugged with Ambien.
In October 2024, Woods was convicted of aggravated sexual assault, facilitated by an intoxicating substance, with a maximum 20-year sentence.
Cultural Home International, founded in 1980, brings young people from around the world to the United States for educational, cultural, travel or work experiences, including home stays for high school and university students.
It is an official J-1 visa sponsor, which provides nonimmigrant visas to individuals participating in an international exchange program in the U.S.
In Gutierrez's case, CHI arranged enrollment at Bishop Brady and the home stay, and according to the lawsuit, the organization assured her family they had checked backgrounds and references and had conducted a visit to the Woods' home.
'At the time of the sexual abuse and assaults described in this complaint, CHI charged Claudia and her family thousands of dollars for the privilege of participating in this cultural exchange program and residing in New Hampshire with a host family, in an allegedly comfortable and nurturing home environment,' her attorneys claimed in the lawsuit. 'CHI owed and agreed that it owed Claudia a duty to do everything within its power to protect her from sexual abuse by a properly vetted family.'
The claims against Bishop Brady were similar, alleging the private high school charged the family $19,000 for the academic year, $5,000 more than local students, while promising to vet the host family and then failing to monitor and supervise her while she was living in the home.
The lawsuit alleges Gutierrez complained of dizziness and at one point passed out in the Woods' home and she had been absent or tardy 'a notable number of times' from school, but neither the school nor CHI intervened or inquired about her symptoms.
Both John and Roberta Woods were also named in the lawsuit, the husband for the injuries caused to the victim as well as emotional distress, and his wife for negligence in presenting a safety risk to a foreign exchange student.
Messages left for Roberta Woods regarding the lawsuit were not returned.
The suit claims Gutierrez continues to suffer from physical and emotional issues, including nightmares, severe anxiety, depression, vomiting and other issues. She is asking for compensatory and enhanced compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest, attorney fees and any other relief deemed 'just and equitable.'
Emouna said he believes there are more cases like Claudia's in the international exchange industry in the United States, with organizations failing to property vet where the young people live, opening the door to predators.
'I thought this was an isolated incident,' he said. 'I think there's a bigger problem at large.'
In Gutierrez's case, the Marin County nonprofit literally showed the 16-year-old girl pictures of a 'beautiful family' in New Hampshire, smiling grandparents with grandchildren on their laps and another of a two-story, white house, the grandpa waving as he stands next to an American flag hanging out front.
'That family was nonexistent,' Emouna said. 'This guy was a predator. He did it on purpose.'
