West Valley-Mission Community College District Pays $7.6 Million to Disabled Student Raped by Campus Aide

In May 2020, a young woman enrolled in the Program for Students with Developmental Disabilities at Mission College in Santa Clara was sexually assaulted on two consecutive days by Raymond Ruiz, a licensed caretaker and instructional aide working within that same program. According to attorney Mark Boskovich, who represented the victim, Ruiz gave the student alcohol inside a classroom before taking her to an on-campus bathroom where he raped her. He assaulted her again the following day.

The victim, who was 25 at the time of the assaults and is legally blind with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, was among the most vulnerable students the program was designed to protect. Ruiz, then 68, was a contract employee whose wife held a co-director role in the same disability program, a conflict the lawsuit alleged contributed to a pattern of unchecked behavior. Prior reports of inappropriate conduct involving Ruiz dated back at least to 2016, including allegations of touching another student with Down syndrome.

Boskovich and the firm filed a civil action against the West Valley-Mission Community College District, arguing the district had failed to protect the student from a known risk. Ruiz was arrested in July 2020 and faced criminal charges including kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, rape by force, sexual penetration by force, and lewd conduct on a dependent person. His wife was also dismissed from the college.

On September 21, 2022, the West Valley-Mission Community College District announced a $7.6 million settlement, paid largely through the district's insurance coverage. Chancellor Bradley Davis issued a public apology on behalf of the institution. As part of the resolution, the district agreed to mandatory employee training on reporting obligations, immediate notification protocols to the Santa Clara County District Attorney when abuse allegations arise, and revised hiring rules to prevent supervisor-relative relationships like the one that existed in the disability program.

The settlement was announced in September 2022, roughly two years after Ruiz's arrest. At the time of the civil settlement announcement, Ruiz remained in custody awaiting trial on the criminal charges.