School Ignored Complaints About Teacher Taking Photos of Girls Amid Belief He Was Gay, Lawsuit Claims

A California private school is facing scrutiny over claims that concerns about a teacher were raised more than a year before he was arrested on charges involving female students.

Travis Shojinaga, 39, taught at Viewpoint School in Calabasas before his February 2026 arrest. The U.S. Sun reported on Sunday, September 28, that a newly filed lawsuit claims students and parents had raised concerns about his behavior as early as December 2024.

The suit alleges that two girls became uncomfortable after Shojinaga sat with them at lunch and positioned his phone beneath the table.

“The children reported that Shojinaga had been sitting with them at lunch, placing his telephone beneath the table, and making them uncomfortable, and that the conduct was not limited,” the lawsuit states, according to the New York Post.

A parent later took the concern to then-head of lower school Claudia Antoine, according to the filing obtained by the outlet.

According to the outlet, the lawsuit claims Antoine responded that Shojinaga “bats for the other team,” while school officials allegedly dismissed the concern as a possible “misunderstanding.”

The lawsuit also claims some students had grown so uncomfortable around Shojinaga that they created a hand signal to alert one another when he was nearby.

Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Shojinaga in February with one felony count of possession of child sexual abuse material and four misdemeanor counts of annoying or molesting a child under 18, according to official documents.

Prosecutors allege he secretly photographed at least four female students. Shojinaga pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The Sun reported that he is free on $1 million bail and is subject to a protective order requiring him to stay away from the alleged victims and Viewpoint School.

His next court date is scheduled for November 11.