School Let Man Walk Onto Playground, Sexually Assault Girl: Suit

TORRANCE, CA — The Torrance Unified School District and a registered sex offender were named co-defendants in court papers filed Thursday alleging joint liability in the molestation of a 6-year-old girl on an elementary school playground in March.

The unofficial Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit's allegations include 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 suit.

Dalan Anthony Johnson, 31, of Los Angeles, previously pleaded not guilty to the charge of attacking the girl March 28 at Lincoln Elementary School. He is awaiting a preliminary hearing in Torrance Superior Court.

According to the court papers, Johnson entered the school unhindered, abused the girl, played basketball with another young boy on campus and then walked away.

A teacher saw Johnson before he made contact with the girl, the court papers allege.

The girl will suffer a lifetime of painful memories of being molested at school, the court papers state.

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 attack, according to Deputy District Attorney Parag Agrawal.

The girl reported the 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, he could face a potential life prison term without the possibility of parole, according to the District Attorney's Office.