June 23, 2025 — A bombshell class action lawsuit has been filed against the Clovis Unified School District (CUSD) and Fancher Creek Elementary School, alleging that school officials ignored complaints of sexual abuse by former second-grade teacher Neng Yang for years, failing to protect students from a known predator. The lawsuit, brought by attorneys at Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA), represents five former female students who claim they were sexually abused by Yang between 1998 and 2005 while in his second-grade class.
The plaintiffs, who were seven and eight years old at the time of the alleged abuse, describe similar disturbing experiences with Yang. According to the complaint, the abuse included groping, fondling, and coercing some students into oral sex, which he allegedly referred to as a “lollipop game.”
One of the most alarming allegations in the lawsuit centers on the school’s alleged response to initial complaints. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, one plaintiff, Tiffany Thrailkill, a second-grader in 1998, reportedly told the Fancher Creek principal, vice principal, and school counselor about Yang’s actions. The lawsuit claims that in response, school officials accused Thrailkill of lying and referred her for psychological treatment, rather than investigating the allegations or reporting them to authorities, despite laws requiring such reports since the 1980s.
Another plaintiff, Samantha Munoz, alleges that in the 2004-2005 school year, school officials learned Yang was showing her child pornography on his phone. Munoz claims she was interrogated and encouraged to keep silent, and then left in his classroom where the abuse continued.
“As a result of coming forward about what happened to me, I learned that another girl apparently complained about Mr. Yang abusing her years before me,” Munoz stated. “To say I’m shocked is an understatement. It looks like school officials allowed him to abuse kids in his class for more than a decade until he was finally arrested for abusing one of them.”
The lawsuit contends that the school officials who allegedly received these complaints were mandated reporters under California law, obligated to report suspected child sexual abuse. However, the women allege that Yang was never reported to law enforcement.
Jason Amala, an attorney for the women and partner at PCVA Law, highlighted the gravity of the situation. “School officials have been mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse for decades. They are mandatory reporters because they are often in the best position to see suspected abuse and to report it so it stops. This case illustrates why. Instead of reporting Yang and protecting their students, it appears school officials blamed the girls, looked the other way, and enabled Yang to abuse their students for over a decade.”
Neng Yang was not terminated until 2012, when police discovered videos of him molesting a minor student on his cell phone. He was subsequently charged with 45 counts of sexual abuse of a minor in Fresno Superior Court and later indicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. In 2014, Yang was sentenced to 38 years in prison for producing child pornography.
This lawsuit brings to light serious questions about accountability and student safety within the Clovis Unified School District during the period of alleged abuse. The case is ongoing, and the community will be watching closely as it progresses.