The Torrance Unified School District and a registered sex offender were sued Thursday by the guardian of a 6-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted on an elementary school playground.
The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
The complaint, brought on the girl's behalf by a guardian identified only as Kim S., seeks unspecified damages.
A TUSD spokeswoman said she had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
Dalan Anthony Johnson, 31, of Los Angeles, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of committing a lewd act on the girl March 28 at Lincoln Elementary School.
He is awaiting a preliminary hearing in Torrance Superior Court.
According to the lawsuit, Johnson entered the school unhindered, abused the girl, played basketball with another young boy on campus and then walked away.
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A teacher saw Johnson before he made contact with the girl, the court papers allege.
The suit contends the girl will suffer a lifetime of painful memories of being molested at school.
Johnson has prior convictions from 2015 for lewd act upon a child under 14 and 2016 for indecent exposure with a prior lewd act conviction, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Johnson was allegedly on parole and wearing an ankle bracelet at the time of the alleged March 28 attack, according to Deputy District Attorney Parag Agrawal.
The girl reported the alleged attack to one of her parents at the end of the school day and her parent informed the Torrance Unified School District, which contacted police, according to Torrance police Sgt. Ronald Harris.
The school district worked with police and the school's resource officer and reviewed surveillance video, which determined the suspect was on campus for less than a minute, Harris said.
If convicted as charged, Johnson could face a potential life prison term without the possibility of parole, according to the District Attorney's Office.
