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Former Emerson High School Student Sues Union City School District Over Alleged Sexual Abuse
A former student of Emerson High School, now known as Union City High School, has filed a civil lawsuit against the Union City School District and Board of Education, alleging she was sexually groomed and abused by her math teacher beginning when she was approximately 16 years old.
The plaintiff, identified only as G.R. to protect her identity, filed the complaint on March 11, 2026, in Bergen County Superior Court. The following day, on March 12, 2026, the court ordered the case transferred to Hudson County, where it is now active.
The complaint names math teacher Francisco Lindo as the primary abuser, along with Principal Robert Fazio, Assistant Principal Edwin Marinez, and teachers Steve Hanak, Mark Ryan, Dennis McMullen, Craig Lapierre, Greg Campbell, and George Morales as defendants. The Union City School District and Board of Education are also named.
According to the complaint and public records, the alleged abuse began in 2008 when the plaintiff was a minor student at Emerson High School. Lindo was arrested in 2009 by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office on charges of sexual assault. He pled guilty to second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, admitting to exchanging emails of a sexual nature and having sexual intercourse with a minor student. He was sentenced to five years in prison on Dec. 14, 2011, and was required to register under Megan’s Law upon his release.
In May 2012, the New Jersey Commissioner of Education ordered Lindo removed from his tenured teaching position. He is permanently banned from public school employment in New Jersey in any capacity.
The lawsuit alleges the school district knew or should have known about Lindo’s conduct and failed to act. It is filed under New Jersey’s Childhood Sexual Abuse Act.
On May 15, 2026, the plaintiff and the Union City Board of Education filed a stipulation agreeing to extend the board’s deadline to respond to the complaint to May 29, 2026.
