Clovis North alum alleges school district ignored sex abuse in drama department
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that one of the defendants named in the suit, Andrew Cardillo, was convicted of a sex crime. Cardillo was arrested in 2011, but the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges.
A woman is suing Clovis Unified and two men who she says were able to groom girls at Clovis North High School because of the district’s lack of oversight.
The complaint was filed on Dec. 19 and names Andrew Cardillo, the inaugural drama teacher at Clovis North High School, as one of the defendants.
According to the lawsuit, Cardillo — who was arrested and accused of sex crimes in 2011 but never charged — regularly engaged in inappropriate conduct with students. He’s accused of allowing Michael Conner, a community member who had a child in the drama program, to assist with improv lessons.
The lawsuit alleges Conner eventually began to groom and sexually assault the plaintiff.
Clovis Unified failed to conduct proper background checks on Cardillo or investigate rumors of his own inappropriate behavior, the lawsuit alleges. Ultimately, the plaintiff says this lack of oversight allowed Cardillo to bring Conner into the classroom, exposing the plaintiff to his sexual advances, per the complaint.
The plaintiff began attending Clovis North in 2007 and says Conner began sexually abusing her in March 2010 following months of grooming.
“Conner would not have had access to groom and assault Plaintiff had CUSD and Clovis North conducted any oversight over the drama department,” the lawsuit reads.
According to court records, Conner was charged with two counts of oral copulation of a minor in 2010. A jury found Conner guilty in February 2024, and he was sentenced to two years in prison.
Clovis Unified is being sued for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and sexual harassment.
The complaint accuses Clovis Unified of having a “pattern of ignoring outcries of sexual abuse,” citing the case of Neng Yang, a former educator who was sentenced to 38 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material. A separate lawsuit filed in July accuses the district of ignoring students who said they were abused by Yang.
Cardillo is being sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiff is suing Conner for sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiff is requesting a jury trial and compensatory damages. A case management conference has been scheduled for April.
Clovis Unified spokesperson Kelly Avants said the district doesn’t comment on active litigation, but she said Cardillo left Clovis Unified in January 2012 and Conner was never a district employee.
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 12:37 PM.
