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Fourth alleged victim of sexual harassment by Ignite school administrator speaks out
Posted: 10.02.2012 at 11:06 PM
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Board members from Ignite Public Schools met behind closed doors for two hours discussing the sexual harassment allegations made against their Chief Financial Officer Rigoberto Abrego.

By meeting's end, no action was taken against Abrego, and he still remains on the job.

However, alleged victims of his sexual advances tell us they are not letting this go without a fight.

It's a story Action 4 News has aggressively pursued for the past two months.

Back in May, at least three women, one of them a student, came forward with the allegations, filing grievances against the administrator.

But, according to the victims, the district ignored their cries for help.

"It's like a slap in the face basically, like no one cares,” said an alleged victim we will call ‘Monica.’ “We put our trust in the system and the system let us down big time."

Sources that attended tonight's school board meeting told Action 4 News that one of the alleged victims approached the board, saying she will file a grievance against the Superintendent Fernando Gomez, as well as a lawsuit against the entire district for wrongful termination.

She says the district fired her after she came forward with her own allegations of sexual harassment against Abrego.

And now, a fourth victim is speaking out.

But unlike the other women, she is showing her face, and sharing her testimony against Abrego without fear.

"It's a disgusting feeling, like you're being degraded,” said Iris Morales, a former student employee at Ignite Public Schools. “That's the feeling I got."

Morales worked in the central offices at Ignite for only three months.

She ended her stay with the district in January, but claims Abrego acted inappropriately with her during her time there.

"He would be standing behind me and he would be just staring,” recalled Moreno. “Like I could feel him staring. I would have the other student employees say 'hey, be careful, he's looking at you.’"

Morales claims Abrego was friendly at first, offering her his number and encouraging her to call him over the weekend.

But when she did not, she claims Abrego approached her in anger.

"He came into my office and he was like angry,” said Morales. “He was like ‘why didn't you call me? Why didn't you text me? Is it because I'm ugly?’"

Morales says Abrego should be held responsible for his actions.

"He's inappropriate. Something needs to be done," said Morales.

The next Ignite school board meeting will be held on October 16th.

The alleged victims have told Action 4 News they will be attending the meeting with their lawyers to present their grievances and lawsuits to the school board.

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