Former Clovis East teacher charged with raping student in 2004-05

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- A former Clovis East teacher is accused of raping a student in a new court case about alleged crimes dating back more than 15 years.

"He forcibly pulled down my pants, forcibly pulled down my underwear, and left everything else," the woman said.

The teacher got fired in 2005 after a series of strange incidents, allegations of drug use and inappropriate contact with a student.

But the worst accusations didn't surface until recently.

Kia Yang wore a red jail jumpsuit and stared at the table in front of him as his former student described 17 incidents of him fondling her and 12 times he raped her.

He was supposed to be tutoring her in AP World History, but she says he filled her with fear instead of knowledge.

"Did the defendant say anything at all during any of the attacks?" asked prosecutor Andrew Janz.

"Yes," she said.

"What were some of the things that he said?" Janz asked.

"Not to tell anybody and he'd go kill my parents," she said.

We're not identifying the woman because of the nature of the alleged crimes.

She's now 32, but she was a frightened 15-year-old sophomore at the time.

She said she tried to scream when it happened, but nothing came out of her mouth.

She felt like her only defense was extra clothes.

"I started wearing two or three bras at once so that could not be lifted up," she said. "I would wear a belt. I would do what I needed to try to ensure that my pants couldn't come down."

"And did that help at all?" Janz asked her.

"No," she said.

Before they fired Yang, Clovis Unified knew about two incidents where he showed up at the student's house.

She said he was never invited and tried to give her a Hmong music CD once.

Her parents called the police.

But she never reported sex crimes to police until 2020, shortly after she told a therapist.

"I had recently been diagnosed with a terminal brain disease and knew that I couldn't go and pass on without people knowing what really happened," she said.

Prosecutors actually video-recorded her testimony at a preliminary hearing Thursday out of concern that she won't live long enough to testify at a trial.

A judge decided there is enough evidence for a jury to decide the case, so Yang is now headed for a trial.