SANTA BARBARA, Calif.- There is another lawsuit regarding a missing Santa Barbara Charter School teacher accused of child molestation and recording children.
Steven Schapansky was arrested over the summer, but failed to show up for his first Santa Barbara County court appearance this month.
The families of two elementary school students have hired Barry Cappello to represent them.
To protect the children’s identities the case is filed on behalf of minors “Jane Doe” and “Rachel Doe.”
The suit is filed against Santa Barbara Unified School District, Santa Barbara Charter School and Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido.
Cappello said his clients learned what happened from the still-investigating detectives.
“My clients’ children are fifth and sixth grade children that were in his class and apparently they were filmed in two different areas, one in his classroom where they changed their clothes for overnights, they had sleepovers without chaperones at the school and they changed their clothes into their jammies,” said Cappello, “And he was filming them and then he was also involved in theater arts and at the theater arts building he had secretly hidden a camera in a dressing room where these children changed into their costumes.”