Sonora Union High School District settles abuse lawsuit brought by former student

Sonora Union High School District has settled a lawsuit with a former female student-athlete and agreed to pay $3.5 million after the former student sued the district, saying she was sexually abused by former varsity basketball coach Amy Emerald, according to The Union Democrat.

Emerald, who formerly went by Amy Santos, was arrested in 2019 after the former student reported to the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office that she had been abused. The Union Democrat did not identify the former student, keeping with the newspaper’s policy to not identify sexual abuse victims without their consent.

Emerald was sentenced in 2020 to two years and eight months in state prison as part of a plea deal.

The latest settlement was part of a lawsuit brought by the former student. The settlement was reached during the fourth day of a jury trial that had been expected to last two weeks, according to The Union Democrat.

Ed Pelfrey, the district’s superintendent, said in a statement that the district was “pleased a resolution could be reached.”