Settlement Proposed In Sex Abuse Case
Columbia, CA – A settlement has been reached in the Columbia Elementary School sex abuse case involving the District Superintendent’s son. Now the courts have to approve it. More than a year and a half ago, Brennan Pendley pleaded guilty to two felony counts of having unlawful intercourse with a minor and a separate charge of sending harmful matter to a minor (text message). Brennan was an after-school aid for Columbia Elementary when the crimes were committed with the eighth grade victim. He is the son of Columbia Union School District Superintendent John Pendley.
After eight hours of mediation on December 14th between the district’s insurer the victim’s attorney, the two sides agreed to a tentative $100,000 settlement.
The victim’s Lawyer Bradley Young says, “I think it’s in everybody’s best interest. I’ll be honest, I think that the attorney, and the insurance company JPA for the district, did a very good job. I felt like they were reasonable, intelligent and I got a real feeling that they wanted to put this behind them fairly. I think it was a smart thing for everybody.”
Young says a judge still needs to review the settlement and approve it. He also says they are still determining whether or not to file a lawsuit against Brennan. Superintendent John Pendley says, “I am not allowed to comment by direction of our attorney.”
Click here to view an earlier story from the case.
