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Dem House hopeful tied to district’s secret sex-abuse settlements after touting transparency record
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A California Democrat running for Congress in a newly redrawn Central Valley congressional district has campaigned on bringing transparency to his local school board — but during his tenure, the board he served on reportedly settled multiple sex-abuse cases behind closed doors.
Randy Villegas, running to represent California’s newly redrawn 22nd Congressional District in the U.S. House following passage of the state’s Proposition 50, is a college professor and most recently a school board member who ran on bringing transparency to the Visalia Unified School District (VUSD) in Central California.
Meanwhile, on the website set up for his congressional candidacy, Villegas says he is running to «bring accountable, people-first leadership to Washington.» But, during his tenure as a Visalia Unified School District school board member, the district settled five confidential sex-abuse cases totaling nearly $14.4 million that included provisions to hide information from the public, according to data and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
In at least one of the settlements authorized unanimously by the board, Villegas was present, Fox News Digital could confirm. In that settlement agreement, Visalia Unified School District paid out $3 million following sexual assault allegations against a kindergarten teacher from six former students, and it contained explicit provisions to keep the public in the dark.
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It marked the fifth «secret settlement» in three years at Visalia Unified School District, according to the LA Times, all of which came during Villegas’s tenure on the board that remains ongoing. Fox News Digital could not independently confirm if Villegas was present for the other four votes.
Randy Villegas is running to represent California’s newly redrawn 22nd Congressional District in the U.S. House following passage of the state’s Proposition 50. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Connor Treacy)
Fox News Digital reached out to Villegas’s campaign and Visalia Unified School District for comment, including questions about Villegas’s past transparency message, the board’s approval of confidential sex-abuse settlements and whether the public deserved more disclosure, but did not hear back in time for publication.
«California Democrats have turned this race into a nightmare for parents,» press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Christian Martinez, told Fox News Digital. «Socialist Randy Villegas quietly approved massive confidential settlements tied to the sexual abuse of children, while Progressive Jasmeet Bains is backed by activists who pushed to weaken sex offender laws and strip parents of their rights proving both are willing to sacrifice kids’ safety to protect their far-left allies and agenda.»
Visalia Unified School District board minutes from March 2025, reviewed by Fox News Digital, state Villegas was present when the board returned from closed session and unanimously approved a settlement agreement only identified as «existing litigation» titled «Tulare County Superior Court, Case No. VCU 294247.»
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When Fox News Digital searched the case number on the Tulare County, California, Superior Court’s case search portal, there were six defendants matching the March 2025 settlement documents shared by the LA Times.
The case involved allegations of sexual abuse and assault from six former students against an adult male kindergarten teacher, with incidents occurring decades prior in both a classroom and the restroom, according to a 2022 complaint shared by the L.A. Times that detailed the six accusers’ allegations.
The teacher, between the years 1969 and 1971, allegedly «used his kindergarten classroom and position of trust and authority to egregiously assault the youngest and most tender of students,» the complaint says, alleging the teacher «upended the kindergarten classroom into his personal playing field where (the teacher) preyed on and repeatedly assaulted multiple female students.»
A school bus takes students home in the small Tulare County, California, town in 2023. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The resulting March 2025 confidential settlement agreement, approved by the board with Villegas present, included provisions where parties agreed to state only «the matter has been resolved» and promised to provide no «further elaboration, discussion, or disclosure» to third-parties about it.
The settlements were reached to resolve claims and did not constitute any admission of wrongdoing.
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The settlement agreement also acknowledged that the district may be required to disclose settlement terms under the California Public Records Act, but barred former students involved in the settlement from «directly or indirectly» encouraging anyone to file a public-records request about the settlements, or making one themselves.
At least three of the other settlement agreements from Villegas’ tenure on the Visalia Unified School District board and shared by the LA Times, which spanned abuse dating back decades, included the same secrecy provisions, according to a review by Fox News Digital.
The fifth, an $8 million settlement approved during Villegas’s tenure, according to the LA Times’ reporting but unverified independently by Fox News Digital, included allegations from a former student who said, when they were 15, they were allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted by a school staff member in their mid-30s. The alleged abuse, according to a copy of the complaint shared by the LA Times, took place during the 2022–2023 school year.
The plaintiff accused Visalia Unified School District of negligent hiring, supervision and retention, in the complaint, alleging the district knew or should have known the defendant was unfit to work there.
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The plaintiff’s attorney told news outlet ABC 30 that the defendant in the case had been released from the same school a decade earlier over serious misconduct before being brought back in 2022. That lawyer later represented another student with allegations against the same staff member, ABC30 reported, adding the defendant was facing 11 felony counts for misconduct during the 2022–2023 school year.
The settlement in that case was reached one month before a civil trial was expected to start, The Fresno Bee added in coverage from 2025.
Lopez acknowledged Democrats are currently in «the hot seat» for California. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Villegas, while running to retain his vacancy appointment to the school board in 2022, prior to any of the aforementioned settlements, bragged that during his temporary appointment he «pushed for transparency, supporting a policy to grant the public access to meeting recordings,» in a candidate profile for the Visalia Times Delta. In the bio on his congressional candidacy website, Villegas echoes a similar message.
«Randy’s running to fight for working families, protect our democracy, and bring accountable, people-first leadership to Washington,» Villegas’ website says. «He’s challenging Republican David Valadao, who has consistently sided with corporate interests over the needs of our communities.»
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Villegas, who teaches political science at the College of the Sequoias since getting his doctorate from the University of California at Santa Cruz, is running in California’s June 2 top-two primary against incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao and Democratic Assemblywoman Bains.
Fox News Digital reached out to campaigns for Valadao and Bains for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Villegas’ campaign has drawn support from the progressive wing of the party, most notably Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who endorsed Villegas in November 2025, Dolores Huerta, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers alongside Cesar Chavez, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, whose co-chairs, Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., praised Villegas as a candidate who would bring Central Valley voices to Congress. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., also has endorsed Villegas, according to local California reporting.
The 22nd Congressional District was previously held by Republicans Devin Nunes and Connie Conway.
congress, sex crimes, local, investigations, controversies education
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Shark attack survivor wakes from 10-day coma and shares first words with family at her hospital bedside
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After spending 10 days in an induced coma following a shark attack on a Sydney, Australia beach, a woman uttered her first three words this week.
Leah Stewart awoke and told her family, «I love you» on Tuesday while recuperating at a hospital, according to her brother, who wrote the update on a fundraising page.
«After a week of life-support and repeat[ed] surgeries, doctors were able to extubate Leah and reduce her level of sedation to bring her out of the induced coma for a short period of time,» Stewart said. «This allowed Leah to share her first words ‘I love you’ with her Mum and partner Fernando who have been by her side in ICU since the incident.»
He added that his sister’s «first thoughts were with her daughter August,» asking if she was OK.
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Leah Stewart was asking about her daughter after she briefly awoke from her induced coma Tuesday. (GoFundMe)
The mid-30s mother and teacher has already been through five surgeries, including having an arm amputated.
She had been airlifted to a hospital in critical condition on the morning of June 13 at Coogee Beach, a popular weekend destination, after a shark bit her legs and arms.
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Stewart told her family that she loved them. (GoFundMe)
Stewart was swimming near shore while a friend watched her daughter on the beach when the attack happened, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
«This is a lot faster than anyone expected, and for us this feels like a miracle and is everything so many of us have hoped and prayed for over the past week,» Stewart wrote on a fundraising page.
Police and emergency personnel at the scene after a shark attack at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, June 13. (Reuters/Hollie Adams)
He added, «Leah has a long road ahead and still remains in critical care, but this is such a positive first step and gives us hope for Leah’s long-term recovery.»
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Stewart’s attack came after three men have been killed by sharks in Australia since May. A 12-year-old boy was also killed by a shark in Sydney Harbor in January.
sharks, australia, world, odd news, travel, oceans, wild nature
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Horror en Bogotá: encontraron el cuerpo de una modelo dentro de una valija e investigan a dos hombres por el crimen
Una modelo colombiana fue encontrada muerta dentro de una valija en un departamento de alquiler temporario en el norte de Bogotá. Se trata de Natalia Villalba Angarita, de 36 años.
El hallazgo se produjo el lunes en un edificio ubicado en el barrio Chicó Norte, en la localidad de Chapinero. Una empleada de limpieza entró al departamento luego de no obtener respuesta de los ocupantes y encontró una valija gris abierta dentro de la ducha del baño. En su interior estaba el cuerpo de Villalba.
Según confirmaron las autoridades, la modelo estaba hospedada desde el 3 de junio bajo la modalidad de alquiler temporario y tenía previsto quedarse hasta el 21 de junio. A partir de ese momento comenzó una investigación que reconstruye sus últimos movimientos y los de las personas que ingresaron al departamento durante las semanas previas al espeluznante hallazgo.
De acuerdo con información difundida por Noticias Caracol, los registros del edificio indican que entre el 3 y el 7 de junio existió una reserva vinculada a un ciudadano estadounidense, procedente de Texas. Luego, Villalba habría renovado la estadía hasta el 21 de junio.
Durante ese período se registró el ingreso de al menos 15 personas al espacio. Entre ellas, figura un británico que llegó el 17 de junio y se retiró al día siguiente.
Las cámaras de seguridad no solo captaron su entrada y salida: en una de las grabaciones, se lo ve llevando sábanas hacia el sector de lavandería. Ese detalle llamó especialmente la atención de los investigadores, ya que el hombre sería la última persona que tuvo contacto con la víctima antes de su muerte. La valija fue encontrada por una empleada de limpieza en la ducha. (Foto: Gentileza Noticias Caracol)
Uno de los aspectos que sorprende tiene que ver con la forma en que fue abandonado el cuerpo. La valija permanecía con una pequeña abertura y estaba ubicada debajo de una ducha que había quedado abierta.
Fuentes vinculadas al caso señalaron que esa situación pudo haber alterado el estado del cadáver y deteriorado posibles evidencias. “El agua entró a la maleta y afectó el estado del cuerpo de la joven que ya llevaba varios días expuesta al líquido. Eso pudo borrar ciertas huellas e incluso causarle lesiones en la piel que dificultarían un poco determinar cómo murió”, explicó un investigador al diario El Tiempo.
En ese sentido, consideró que la disposición del cuerpo dentro del baño no habría sido casual: “La persona que dejó ahí el cuerpo sabía que el agua alteraría la escena”.
La causa también abrió una nueva línea de investigación luego de que los peritos encontraran dos pasaportes pertenecientes a la víctima, pero con diferencias en la identidad registrada. En uno figuraba como Natalia Villalba Rubiano y en otro como Rubiano Angarita.
A raíz de este descubrimiento, las autoridades comenzaron a revisar sus movimientos migratorios. Hasta el momento se confirmó que había hecho viajes recientes a Río de Janeiro y a Madrid. Los investigadores buscan determinar si esos desplazamientos guardan alguna relación con las personas que estuvieron con ella en los días previos a su muerte.
Leé también: Le mandó un huevo de Pascua envenenado a la novia de su expareja y mató a dos nenes: la condenaron a 66 años de cárcel
En paralelo, la atención se concentra en el ciudadano británico, quien abandonó Colombia poco después de los hechos. La posibilidad de que haya salido del país activó mecanismos de cooperación internacional y no se descarta que la Fiscalía solicite una notificación de Interpol para localizarlo y tomarle declaración.
Por el momento no hay personas imputadas, aunque al menos dos hombres permanecen bajo observación.
Los investigadores analizan pruebas físicas, biológicas y toxicológicas recolectadas en la escena. También avanzan sobre las grabaciones de las cámaras de seguridad, los registros de ingreso al edificio y los testimonios de familiares, amigos y personas que estuvieron con la modelo en sus últimos días, piezas clave para intentar esclarecer qué ocurrió.
Colombia, Bogotá, Femicidio, valija
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Unearthed video exposes vulnerable House Dem’s reversal on crucial issue impacting state
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A vulnerable Democratic New Mexico lawmaker once called for his state to walk away from the energy production that brings in almost a third of the state’s general fund, while now pitching an «all of the above» energy approach.
«We have to champion a whole bunch of different policies to really mitigate the impact of climate change,» Rep. Gabriel Vasquez, D-N.M., said in a 2021 interview.
«The electrification of our fleet systems, for example, across our federal government and even our local government here in the city of Las Cruces, the electrification of residential developments, the electrification of residential developments the electrification of commercial and municipal developments, limiting the use of natural gas and other fossil fuels and carbon-based fuels and replacing them with electric,» Vasquez said.
At the time, Vasquez was in the middle of a campaign to become the Democratic nominee to challenge incumbent Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-N.M.
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Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., during a tour of CN Wire Corporation in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (Justin Hamel/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
His resurfaced comments come as he wages a campaign for a third term in one of the country’s most competitive congressional districts and highlight how some Democrats have made efforts to rebrand their stances towards renewable sources of power as they look to champion affordability platforms.
In his most recent campaign materials, Vasquez has said he supports all forms of energy, citing high prices.
«Rep. Vasquez stands by the energy workers in the Permian Basin who fuel America’s energy economy. He believes in an all-of-the-above approach with oil and gas and clean energy to diversify our economy and bring more jobs to New Mexico,» his website reads.
When asked about his past comments and whether he believes they conflict with his current stance, Vazquez’s campaign said the congressman stands by his current position.
«Gabe is proud of his record on the City Council and his advocacy for clean energy, clean air and clean water. In Congress, he continues to support an all-of-the-above energy approach,» Patricia Santiago, a spokesperson for the campaign, said.
Energy production in the Permian Basin, one of the world’s largest oil and gas regions, employs a large number of people in New Mexico.
The industry brings in $13.1 billion in total revenue, according to the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. Of that, roughly $7.5 billion goes to New Mexico’s general fund, the state Department of Finance and Administration says.
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Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., holds a news conference with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during the House Democrats 2025 Issues Conference at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Va., on March 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
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It’s a reliance Greg Cunningham, a former law enforcement agent and Vasquez’s challenger, believes isn’t going anywhere.
«Progressives like Gabe Vasque are first in line to spend our oil and gas money, and then they run around and shame the very industry that funds our schools, builds our roads and gives more than 100,000 New Mexicans a good-paying job. You don’t get to cash the check and trash the people who wrote it,» Cunningham said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
«Energy is and will continue to be the lifeblood of New Mexico,» Cunningham added.
Back in 2021, Vasquez seemed to believe that the transition away from fossil fuels would take time.
«We also have to make sure we lay down the path into renewable energy, and that means in places like the Permian Basin, where the economy is strongly dominated by fossil fuel extraction, that we prepare the workforce for a transition into a renewable energy workforce,» Vasquez said.
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Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., attends a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 15, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc)
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«That doesn’t mean next year, that doesn’t mean in five to ten years. We have to be much smarter,» he added.
Vasquez last won re-election in a 52.1% to 47.9% victory over Herrell in 2024.
new mexico, climate change environment, democrats elections, energy, congress
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