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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
Senate panel moves to vote on Fauci contempt resolution
Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson reports on a Senate panel’s upcoming vote to hold former NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. The resolution follows a contentious COVID-19 hearing where Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than one hundred times.
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Fox News Digital has confirmed that a key investigative panel in the Senate has obtained Dr. Anthony Fauci’s pandemic-era cellphone.
The cellphone was transferred from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations chaired by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
A spokesperson for the senator told Fox News Digital the subcommittee «obtained a copy of Dr. Fauci’s iPhone that was used during his time at HHS.»
Whether the panel has access to the phone remains unclear.
RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES
Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and medical advisor to several U.S. presidents, testifies under subpoena about his role in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic at a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., July 29, 2026. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
The committee’s procurement of the phone, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes as the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee readies to decide whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. It also follows the HHS’ move to dump over 1,000 pages of Fauci’s personal diary to the panel just days before the blockbuster hearing.
The hearing, slated for Thursday morning, comes after the panel’s chair, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., subpoenaed Fauci to testify on his alleged role in funding «risky» gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, where the COVID-19 virus originated.
A source close to Paul’s office told Fox News Digital that the lawmaker is also in possession of the phone.
Last week’s testimony was meant to serve as the climatic duel between Fauci and Paul, who has demanded Fauci be thrown into prison for his role in the nation’s pandemic policy and alleged lies to Congress.
But it didn’t turn out that way.
TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FAUCI’S HEARING: PAUL BOOTS LAWYER, MORENO ERUPTS AS CONTEMPT VOTE LOOMS
Fauci, on advice from his lawyers, opted to plead the Fifth Amendment out of concern about self-incrimination before a panel that he charged was designed to ensnare him.
«Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions,» Fauci said.
What ensued was Republicans on the panel peppering Fauci with questions probing his involvement in an alleged lab leak that led to the virus’ rapid spread to what day of the week it was. Democrats charged that his decision to activate his constitutional rights was the right call given Paul and his colleagues’ determination to catch him in a lie.
WATCH: RAND PAUL SAYS THERE’S ONE THING AMERICANS HAVE NEVER HEARD FROM FAUCI
Ranking member Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., speaks as U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan testifies at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on Capitol Hill June 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
And it culminated in Paul vowing that Fauci would face consequences for declining to comment and questioning whether his pardon from former President Joe Biden could protect him.
«I think there’s another legal question that the courts may have to decide upon, and that is whether or not a presidential pardon offers you complete immunity,» Paul said at the time.
Fox News Digital did not immediately receive comment from HHS on Fauci’s pandemic-era iPhone.
politics, senate elections, anthony fauci, rand paul, hearings, iphone
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Nuclear experts urge Trump not to let Iran steer talks away from regime’s atomic threat
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Iran’s top Revolutionary Guard commander declared Wednesday that Tehran would continue working on nuclear weapons as long as the United States and Israel possess them, intensifying concerns that Iran is using negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz to postpone concessions on its nuclear program.
«As long as the United States and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security,» IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi said, according to a translation of remarks circulating Wednesday. «If they disarm, we will disarm.»
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by vowing that Israel would continue preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, with or without a diplomatic agreement.
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A map shows damage to Iran’s Fordow nuclear site after being struck by the United States in Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, 2025. (Fox News)
«Today, we heard the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Vahidi, explicitly declare Iran’s intention to continue developing nuclear weapons — ‘continue,’ as he put it,» Netanyahu said at a ceremony marking the reinterment of Shimon and Rivka Herzl, the grandparents of the founder of modern day Zionism, Theodor Herzl.
«Well, as prime minister of Israel, I too am determined to continue — to continue preventing Iran from possessing nuclear weapons,» he said.
Netanyahu praised President Donald Trump as Israel’s greatest friend in the White House and expressed appreciation for the two countries’ joint efforts against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
«Israel’s existence is not subject to negotiation,» Netanyahu said. «With an agreement or without an agreement, I am determined — we are all determined — to do whatever is necessary to ensure our security and our future.»
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President Pezeshkian said Iran would rebuild the nuclear facilities targeted by the U.S. and make them stronger in 2025. (Iranian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The exchange came as nuclear experts urged Trump to keep Iran’s nuclear program at the center of negotiations, warning that Tehran could use the Hormuz crisis to secure sanctions relief and other concessions before addressing its remaining nuclear capabilities.
Trump told «Fox News at Night» Tuesday that military force remained an option if Iran abandoned the talks, while insisting Tehran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
«If they back out again, they’re going to get hit really hard,» Trump told Fox News’ Trace Gallagher. «They know that. They understand that. I have no choice. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple.
«The hard hit is yet to come, and hopefully we won’t have to use it.»
Trump said negotiators held an «all-day negotiation» Tuesday and described the discussions as «very good.» He has said the talks would initially focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz before turning to Tehran’s nuclear program.
TRUMP WARNS IRAN WILL BE HIT ‘REALLY HARD’ IF NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS COLLAPSE AGAIN
A satellite view of the Natanz nuclear facility and Pickaxe Mountain, near Natanz, Iran, June 30, 2026 (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, said that sequence could play directly into Iran’s strategy.
«It is in the Iranians’ interest to steer the negotiations toward the issues that they most care about,» Stricker told Fox News Digital, including securing major U.S. concessions over Hormuz and «maintaining control of that crucial waterway that has proven a lifeline for Tehran to survive this war.»
She said Iran would also seek oil sanctions relief and potentially relief from all U.S. sanctions, before addressing the nuclear file.
«If Tehran is able to structure the talks that way — and I’m concerned that Trump appears to be going along with that approach — there may be little left in terms of leverage to get big concessions from the Iranians on the nuclear file down the line,» Stricker said.
There is evidence that Tehran has sought to sequence the talks in its favor. Axios reported in April that Iran proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war before beginning nuclear negotiations, potentially reducing U.S. leverage over enrichment and Iran’s enriched-uranium stockpile.
President Donald Trump, right, speaks alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a model of Air Force One on the table during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House April 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Washington Post later reported that Tehran was focused on preserving its leverage over Hormuz rather than engaging deeply on major nuclear restrictions.
Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, agreed Iran is seeking to capitalize on the leverage it gained by disrupting maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
«The current focus on the Straits of Hormuz is not surprising. Iran is looking to capitalize on leverage gained by disrupting maritime traffic through the waterway and test if Trump is willing to negotiate in good faith,» Davenport told Fox News Digital.
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Satellite imagery taken Jan. 30, 2026, shows a new roof over a previously destroyed building at Natanz nuclear site. (2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
She said Tehran understands that any durable agreement will ultimately have to address its nuclear program but said, «At the end of this conflict, Iran will still possess the capabilities necessary to build a bomb,» Davenport said, «The relevant knowledge and nuclear expertise cannot be bombed away.
«Tehran retains key materials and technologies necessary to build a bomb,» she added. «If left unchecked, the nuclear program will be a source of instability and renewed conflict, even if Iran does not resume more proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities.»
A proposed agreement between Iran and Oman could give Tehran some control over ships entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters Wednesday. One regional source described the arrangement as a concession that had already been made, although the precise meaning of Iranian «control» remained under negotiation.
Iran is also seeking fees from ships traveling through the waterway, according to Reuters, while Washington has opposed both Iranian control and mandatory transit charges.
Stricker said postponing the nuclear issues would allow the regime to preserve its remaining enriched-uranium stockpiles and avoid fully dismantling its nuclear infrastructure.
She said Iran also wants to avoid accounting for its past nuclear weapons-related work or committing to end uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing.
The Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran April 29, 2024 (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
«Leaving them as a last-order issue in the negotiations likely means that we will not see the Iranians make big concessions and make a solid nuclear deal,» Stricker said.
Davenport said the administration should prioritize restoring access for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency before beginning detailed nuclear negotiations.
«The IAEA has not visited key Iranian nuclear sites in more than a year,» she said. «It remains unclear how much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure remains and where any gaps might be in trying to account for Iran’s nuclear materials.»
She said renewed inspections would give Washington a clearer picture of Iran’s remaining facilities and materials, while helping negotiators design a verification regime capable of addressing any gaps.
Davenport also recommended pairing sanctions relief with specific, verifiable Iranian steps rather than negotiating one sweeping package.
«A series of smaller deals could build confidence in the process,» she said.
Stricker urged the administration to link every concession involving Hormuz, sanctions or the U.S. blockade to a measurable Iranian step on the nuclear file.
The U.S. military has been enforcing a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, even during the ceasefire. (U.S. Central Command)
«The best approach to ensure a solid deal is to make the nuclear issues just as important as the Strait of Hormuz, removing the blockade and other top Iranian priorities,» she said.
war with iran, national security, nuclear proliferation, iran, benjamin netanyahu, world
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