In 2011, plaintiff Robert Mena, a high school speech language pathologist at Arvin High School, notified Child Protective Services after an 18-year-old Special Education student allegedly told him he had impregnated his 13-year-old female cousin who was staying with the student’s family, “but it was okay because his mother brought the girl from Mexico to be his girlfriend.” Mena initially reported the claim, which he believed involved two potential crimes, statutory rape and human trafficking, to the Arvin High School campus police officer. He also indicated to management that he was going to file a CPS report, which he did the next day. Mena was then transferred to Highland High School the day after he filed the report. Mena claimed that Arvin High management told him that he was “not a good fit” there. He also claimed that a school district administrator told him that he was too interested in having someone arrested. At the end of the school year, Mena was told he would not be rehired due to the incident involving the student. Mena claimed that a district administrator told him that he went beyond what was necessary in relation to the student. The Arvin High School vice principal admitted that adverse actions were taken against Mena because of his report to the police officer and because the student in question had been frightened by the report. Mena sued Kern High School District; the director of special education for the district, John Ferguson; and the vice president at Arvin High School, Melissa Boatman. Mena alleged that the actions of Ferguson and Boatman constituted retaliation under the CPS statute and the Bane Act. He also alleged that he was retaliated against by the Kern High School District for reporting criminal activity to the Arvin High School campus police officer and that he was retaliated against for being a whistleblower due to making the report. Defense counsel contended that Mena, who was a former police officer, questioned the student one-on-one and that Mena then asked the campus police officer, in front of the same student, whether the student should be arrested. Counsel contended that as a result, the administration at Arvin High School felt that Mena had terrorized the student, who had a Kindergarten-level capacity and who was incapable of understanding Mena’s questions. Counsel further contended that the administration then contacted the school district and asked if Mena, a non-tenured, temporary, one-year-contract employee, could be transferred., After the incident, Mena found work as a speech pathologist in the El Tejon Unified School District. Mena claimed he suffered damages in the form of increased costs of commuting to a job farther away, as well as emotional distress. Defense counsel noted that Mena worked with the Special Education Department on a waiver, as he was working on his Master’s Degree. Counsel also noted that Mena did find other employment.