A damage claim filed August 26, 2025, accuses Fresno Unified School District of negligence after Dusty William Lewis, a registered sex offender, served as a volunteer softball coach at Fresno High School from roughly 2021 through 2025 and allegedly engaged in inappropriate contact with a female student athlete. Local reporting by GV Wire and YourCentralValley.com in October 2025 confirmed Lewis’s criminal history on Megan’s Law and in court records, and described the claim as alleging failures in background checks and in responding to student complaints.

Lewis’s criminal record dates to a 2001 conviction for rape by force or fear, followed by release in 2008. Subsequent arrests and convictions include a 2012 police chase involving a loaded handgun and drugs, a 2014 sentence for fleeing an officer and related offenses, and additional criminal matters originating in 2022 with charges such as assault with a firearm and criminal threats. In July 2025 Lewis was arrested on charges of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and disrupting school activities. He faces pre-trial and settlement conferences scheduled for December 4, 2025, on active criminal cases, according to public timelines compiled from reporting and court records.

The claimant, a former Fresno High softball player, alleges the district failed to properly vet volunteers and disregarded complaints by school staff and students. Her attorney, Joe Barrett, has pointed to district responsibilities under California education codes in framing the district’s potential liability. Fresno Unified declined to comment on pending litigation, and the district removed discussion of the claim from an October 2025 school board agenda, leaving community questions unresolved.

This episode underscores broader concerns about volunteer screening and extracurricular supervision in Fresno County public schools. Parents and families expect districts to enforce background checks that prevent individuals with disqualifying criminal histories from gaining unsupervised access to students. Advocates for stronger safeguards note that sports and other after-school programs often put volunteers in close proximity to minors with limited oversight, creating a known vulnerability if vetting is lax or complaints are not acted upon.

The claim also arrives amid other 2025 cases involving alleged misconduct by school-affiliated adults in the district, a pattern that amplifies scrutiny of Fresno Unified’s policies and governance. For residents, the implications are both practical and civic: potential legal liability for the district could impact budgets and public trust, while diminished confidence in school safety could influence parental engagement, enrollment decisions, and community support for local education measures and school board candidates.

Confirming the full sequence of events and institutional responses will require review of court filings and district records. Journalists and concerned residents can seek further details through Fresno County Superior Court records and Public Records Act requests to the district. The December 4, 2025, pre-trial calendar and any subsequent actions by the school board will be key milestones as the community weighs reforms to volunteer vetting, complaint investigation, and oversight to better protect students.