Former PSUSD teacher says district ignored claims of inappropriate behavior

New developments are taking place involving John David Yoder, a former Palm Springs Unified School District teaching aide convicted of having sex with minors.

A former teacher who worked with Yoder at PSUSD is now suing the school district, saying it ignored his claims of Yoder’s inappropriate behavior. Former teacher John Villani says he started reporting signs of Yoder’s inappropriate behavior three years before his arrest.

The lawsuit claims Villani had been reporting suspicions of Yoder potentially engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with students for more than a year. Villani said district officials ignored his claims and retaliated against him by forcing him to resign to avoid a threat of being fired.

The lawsuit also claims the school district blackballed Villaniby interfering with his efforts of finding another teaching job in the Coachella Valley. He’s suing the school district for damages, including lost wages and emotional distress.

In a statement, Palm Springs Unified School District’s attorney, Catherine Gayer, responded to the lawsuit by saying:

‘The safety and well-being of our students is our utmost concern. The district has filed a response to Villani’s complaint with the court denying his allegations. There is no foundation to Villani’s allegation that the district retaliated against him or that he was forced to resign his position with the district’.

KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will keep you updated as the lawsuit moves forward.