People told the district. Parents called the athletic director. Students watched it happen in the school parking lot. And nothing was done.

In March 2026, a former Woodside High School student filed a civil lawsuit against the Sequoia Union High School District alleging it failed to protect her against a volleyball coach who allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted her starting when she was 15 years old. According to a report by Local News Matters, multiple complaints were raised to school administrators and dismissed. The coach, Thomas Feng, was later arrested and charged with felony sexual assault of a person under the age of 18.

The lawsuit also names Academy Volleyball, a Bay Area youth volleyball club where Feng also coached and where the same alleged abuse continued. At Easton & Easton, we represent survivors of school and youth sports sexual abuse across California. This case illustrates precisely how institutional inaction transforms a preventable harm into an ongoing one.

Key Takeaways

  • Thomas Feng, 26, a volleyball coach at Woodside High School, was arrested and charged with felony sexual assault of a person under the age of 18 by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
  • The alleged abuse began when the student was 15 years old and included multiple incidents on school grounds and at school-sanctioned events.
  • At least three separate complaints or expressions of concern were made to school administrators — by students, players, and a parent — before Feng was arrested. All were dismissed or ignored.
  • The lawsuit also names Academy Volleyball, a Bay Area youth club where Feng also coached and where the same abuse allegedly continued.
  • Both the school district and the volleyball club allegedly failed to report reasonable suspicions of child abuse to law enforcement or to Child Protective Services, as required by California’s mandatory reporting laws.
  • California law permits civil claims against school districts and private youth organizations for negligent hiring, supervision, and failure to report known or suspected abuse.

What the Lawsuit Alleges: Dismissed Complaints and a Coach Left in Place

According to the civil complaint filed in March 2026, Thomas Feng was employed as a volleyball coach at Woodside High School in the Sequoia Union High School District for several years, going back to at least the 2021-2022 school year. During that time, he allegedly used his position of authority to groom a student who was 15 years old when the abuse began, targeting her with special attention during practices, texting her every day, and guaranteeing her a spot on the team.

The alleged abuse was not hidden. Other students and players reportedly witnessed Feng and the student kissing in the school parking lot, spending time alone together in each other’s cars, going out to lunch together without other students present, and walking out of a storage closet together at the school. Rumors about the relationship circulated on campus.

Despite this, the lawsuit alleges that three separate warnings to school administrators went unanswered. In 2023, a parent of another player on the volleyball team raised concerns about Feng’s behavior with the school’s athletic director, who reportedly dismissed them. In the same year, two anonymous complaints were submitted to Woodside High administrators about the inappropriate relationship. Both were characterized as rumors and set aside. No staff member reported the concerns to law enforcement or to San Mateo County Child Protective Services, the complaint states.

The former student filed a police report against Feng in June 2025. He was subsequently arrested and charged with felony sexual assault of a person under the age of 18 by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Why the Volleyball Club Is Named: How Abuse Follows a Victim Across Institutions

One of the most significant aspects of this lawsuit is its reach beyond the school district. Academy Volleyball, a private youth volleyball club with locations across the Bay Area, is also named as a defendant. Feng coached there in addition to his role at Woodside High, and the complaint alleges the same abuse continued at the club.

According to the lawsuit, Academy Volleyball had also received complaints about Feng’s behavior with the student but took no action to investigate or to report the concerns to law enforcement. The club is accused of negligence in both its hiring and its supervision of Feng.

This dual-institution structure, school district and private youth club, reflects a pattern that civil attorneys who handle youth sports abuse cases recognize. A predatory coach who is given access to the same victim across multiple settings can cause compounding harm, and both institutions can share civil liability for enabling that access to continue.

Private youth sports clubs operate outside the direct oversight structures of school districts, but they are not exempt from California’s mandatory reporting obligations. Any person who is employed by an organization whose duties require direct contact with minors, and who has knowledge of or reasonably suspects child abuse, is a mandated reporter under California Penal Code Section 11165.7. When private club staff receive complaints and fail to report them, their organization’s civil exposure mirrors that of a school district.

Dismissing Complaints Is Not a Defense: What California Law Requires

Both the school district and the volleyball club are alleged to have dismissed complaints about Feng as rumors. That framing matters legally, and not in the district’s favor.

California’s mandatory reporting law does not require certainty before a report is made. It requires a report when an employee knows of child abuse or has a reasonable suspicion of it. A parent complaint to an athletic director about a coach’s inappropriate behavior with a student is not a rumor in the legal sense. It is information that triggers an obligation to investigate and report.

The California Department of Social Services provides clear guidance: mandated reporters who fail to report known or reasonably suspected child abuse may face criminal penalties under California Penal Code Section 11166. Beyond criminal exposure, the failure to report is itself a basis for civil liability against the institution that employed the non-reporting staff member.

When a school district or private organization investigates a complaint internally and concludes it is a rumor without reporting it to law enforcement or Child Protective Services, it substitutes its own judgment for the judgment of trained investigators. That substitution, especially when it results in a child abuser remaining in contact with the victim, is exactly what negligent supervision claims are built on.

When Grooming Happens in Public: The Liability Standard for What Schools Should Have Seen

Grooming is usually described as a hidden process, one that abusers deliberately keep invisible. The Woodside High case is different in a way that has direct legal significance. The alleged grooming behavior was visible to students, other volleyball players, and parents. Multiple people saw it. Multiple people reported it.

In civil litigation, the question of institutional liability turns largely on what the organization knew or should have known. When the alleged conduct was observable by students and parents and was the subject of formal complaints, the “should have known” threshold becomes very easy to meet. A school district cannot claim ignorance when its own students were watching the abuse unfold in the school parking lot.

The Darkness to Light organization, which trains youth-serving organizations in abuse prevention, emphasizes that visible grooming behaviors, including special attention, private communication, and physical proximity, are warning signs that trained adults are obligated to act on. When institutions receive training on these signs and still fail to respond to explicit complaints, the argument for institutional negligence strengthens considerably.

Under California Assembly Bill 218 (AB 218), courts may award up to three times the compensatory damages when a covered entity engaged in a cover-up or concealment of a childhood sexual abuse claim. Characterizing credible complaints as rumors and taking no action is the kind of institutional response AB 218’s treble damages provision was designed to address.

What Survivors of Coach or Club Abuse Should Know About Their Civil Options

Both schools and private clubs can be sued

Civil claims for youth sports sexual abuse are not limited to school districts. Private volleyball clubs, cheer gyms, recreational leagues, and other youth organizations that employ coaches with access to minors can all face civil liability when they fail to screen, supervise, or respond to complaints about those coaches. The legal theory, negligent hiring and supervision, applies regardless of whether the organization is public or private.

California’s statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse

AB 218 removed the civil statute of limitations for many childhood sexual abuse claims in California, allowing survivors to file even years after the abuse. The law also created expanded provisions for claims against institutions and allows treble damages for concealment. An attorney can assess whether your specific circumstances fall within the law’s coverage.

Documenting what you remember

Write down dates, locations, names of coaches, staff, or club personnel, and the identities of anyone who may have witnessed concerning behavior or to whom you reported it. If you made a complaint to a school, athletic director, or club and were dismissed, document that too. Evidence of ignored reports is directly relevant to institutional liability claims.

Reporting to law enforcement

If you experienced abuse by a coach or club employee and have not yet reported it to law enforcement, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and local police agencies take reports. The RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is also available 24/7 at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) and can connect you with local support and reporting resources.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a private volleyball club be sued for a coach’s sexual abuse of a student?

Yes. Private youth sports organizations have the same duty to screen, supervise, and respond to complaints about employees or contractors who work with minors. When a club receives complaints and takes no action, it can be held civilly liable for negligent hiring and supervision alongside the individual abuser. California’s mandatory reporting law also applies to club employees who have direct contact with minors.

What does it mean to “dismiss a complaint as a rumor” in a legal context?

Legally, it means little. California’s mandatory reporting standard requires action when a person has knowledge of or a reasonable suspicion of child abuse. A parent complaint or anonymous report about a coach’s inappropriate relationship with a student creates a reasonable suspicion that triggers a reporting obligation. Labeling that concern a rumor and failing to report it to law enforcement or Child Protective Services does not extinguish the obligation; it compounds the liability.

Does it matter that the abuse happened partly on school grounds and partly at a private club?

Each institution is evaluated for its own liability based on where it had knowledge, what access it provided, and whether it responded appropriately to warnings. Abuse occurring across both settings does not limit a survivor’s claims. It may actually expand them by establishing that the abuser used his authority in multiple contexts and that more than one institution failed to act.

Can I file a civil claim if a criminal case is still pending?

Yes. Civil and criminal cases are separate proceedings with different parties, different standards of proof, and different outcomes. A civil claim can be filed, and can proceed, while criminal charges are pending. The two do not interfere with each other, and a civil attorney can advise on the timing considerations specific to your situation.

What if the district claims it investigated the complaints and found nothing?

A district’s internal investigation does not immunize it from civil liability, especially if that investigation failed to involve law enforcement or Child Protective Services. Civil discovery can compel the production of the investigation’s records, emails, and interviews, and a jury can evaluate whether the investigation was genuine or was designed to protect the institution. If the investigation resulted in Feng remaining in his coaching role and the abuse continuing, that outcome speaks for itself.

Easton & Easton’s Commitment to Survivors of Youth Sports and School Sexual Abuse

At Easton & Easton, we are deeply committed to supporting survivors of childhood sexual abuse in cases where schools, youth sports organizations, and private clubs failed to protect the students in their care. The Woodside High case is a stark example of what happens when institutions treat credible reports as inconveniences rather than obligations.

Our approach combines compassionate, trauma-informed advocacy with thorough investigation of institutional practices and failures. We recognize that legal accountability is one component of a survivor’s healing journey, and we work to connect clients with therapeutic professionals, victim-support services, and community resources that provide ongoing support throughout and beyond the legal process.

Attorney Saul Wolf has extensive experience handling civil claims related to youth sports sexual abuse and school sexual abuse across a wide range of settings, including public school districts, private athletic programs, youth organizations, and coaching relationships throughout Orange County, Los Angeles County, and across California.

Easton & Easton remains dedicated to helping survivors seek accountability, clarity, and justice while advocating for stronger institutional responsibility within the organizations that serve children throughout California.

If you or someone you know has been affected by abuse by a coach, teacher, or youth organization staff member in California, we invite you to contact Easton & Easton for a confidential consultation. Our team is here to listen, answer your questions, and help you understand your options.