CONEJO VALLEY : Girl Faces $49,500 Judgment in Attack

A Ventura County jury has ordered the Conejo Valley Unified School District to pay $500 to a Newbury Park intermediate-school student who was slashed with a pair of scissors by another student in 1993.

But the larger part of the jury award--$49,500--was assessed on a student who helped arrange the attack on 12-year-old Joleen Pisciotta, according to the jury.

Joleen was left with a one-inch scar on her right temple after being attacked by a 15-year-old girl at Sequoia Intermediate School on Oct. 6, 1993. The jury ruled that the 15-year-old was 85% responsible for the attack, but did not assess any damages against her because her family had settled out of court with the victim for $10,000.

A 16-year-old girl, whom the jury found shared 14% of the blame in the attack for helping to plan it, has to pay the $49,500, the jury found.

Attorneys for the two teen-age defendants could not be reached.

Attorney Sean Cowdery, who represents the district, said the 15-year-old girl struck Joleen in the face, cut her hair with scissors and slashed her temple during the attack.

Cowdery was not aware if the 15-year-old is still enrolled in the district. The 16-year-old now attends Newbury Park High School.

Joleen and her family have moved to Northern California, he said.

The school district was held 1% responsible for the attack because a teacher who was scheduled to supervise the campus yards was inside a school building when Joleen was assaulted.

The verdict “sends a message that educators are not policemen, and they do the best they can with the funds and resources available,” Cowdery said.