Fresno High School teacher had sexual relationship with 15-year-old girl on school grounds, police say

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- New details in the case of the Fresno High School teacher accused of having a long, inappropriate relationship with a student. They could expose Fresno Unified to a lawsuit.

Darren Klassen's arrest shocked the Fresno High School community -- teachers and students alike.

The details revealed in a series of search warrants make the alleged crime even more troubling.

Police say the sex acts took place in Klassen's classroom, room N-15.

"The fact that it's in school, that's disturbing just as an individual looking at it," said legal analyst Ralph Torres.

The alleged victim told police the relationship got physical while she was still 15, but it escalated in the month she turned 16. She said they had sexual contact three to five times a week into her junior year, and the activity continued even after she graduated.

Police say Klassen admitted many of the details in a phone call they recorded.

Torres says that spells serious trouble.

"Every event can be a charged crime, so if you have three to five times a week every week, multiply that out, we're looking at hundreds of counts," he said.

The girl told police the scene of the crimes was in a building on the north side of the school. There are no windows to the outside and students say there's only a small window in the hallway and it's often blocked by a single sheet of paper.

"Possible liability for the school district, that's there," Torres said. "You know, the fact that it happened - if you believe it - every single week for a year let's say. You would expect that somebody suspected."

When a second grade teacher in Clovis Unified molested a student, the district paid the victim's family more than $2 million. It also installed classroom doors with bigger windows to eliminate privacy.

Fresno Unified didn't comment about the possible liability, but they told us they put Klassen on leave and they're working with police.

An Action News reporter talked to Klassen's attorney, who said he didn't want to comment on the case beyond saying he's still investigating what happened.