SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Parents of a former Westview High School student are fuming after they said the school district failed to fire a teacher accused of sending inappropriate text messages to their teen daughter for more than a year.
The parents gave 10News pages of text messages between the teacher and their daughter. The text messages have nothing to do with school, and include messages like "You look great," "That's my girl," and "Night night sweetie."
The girl's parents said the messages seemed like the beginning of a budding relationship.
"It sickened us, it sickened us," the parents said.
At the time of the messages, they said their daughter was 17 years old and a student at Westview High School.
"A police officer came to the house and talked to us about this and basically told us that this teacher was grooming our daughter," the girl's father told 10News. "And we were disgusted, just disgusted."
The parents found out about the texts in April 2017. They said numerous Westview High teachers send mass emails about math homework or test scores, but this was something else.
They said they took the issue to the Poway Unified School District right away, and then filed a formal complaint in June.
"We thought bringing this information to them, they would have thanked us," the girl's mother said.
Poway Unified School District says it launched an investigation right away.
With texts calling their daughter "hun" and "stud" and others saying "I miss my little buddy," they thought the district's punishment for the teacher would be swift.
"Telling her that he's her best friend or 'night night sweetie,' things like that, it's just disgusting; he's crossed so many lines it's unbelievable," the girl's father said.
In a statement to 10News, the district said they "immediately contacted law enforcement who determined there was no criminal activity or illegal action that took place."
The district statement goes on to say, "There was no evidence or allegation that supports an inappropriate physical relationship between the employee and student."
That part of the statement is the reason 10News has chosen to not name the teacher. 10News called him, but did not get a response.
The parents told 10News they received a letter from the district this summer saying the teacher was reprimanded but because of privacy reasons, the district could not confirm how.
"I wasn't happy at all with what the district did and how they handled this, and that's why we're trying to bring this to light," the parents said.
They're worried that the teacher hasn't been fired and is still around other students. They said nothing was sent home to parents about the incident and the public has a right to know.
Along with thanking the other parents who have stood by them, the family wants parents everywhere to know how important it is to watch your kids in this digital age.
"Always trust your gut," the girl's mother said. "A mother has a gut instinct, and I listened to my gut when I found this and I needed to report this man."
Dozens of parents are gathering outside of Westview High School on Friday morning to demand that the district take more action.
