LOS ANGELES It was an open secret at Brentwood School, a $44,000-a-year private academy in Los Angeles with a roster of famous alumni, that science teacher Aimee Palmitessa flirted with male students.

She once posed with kids in her class wearing matching T-shirts that said AP Chem 2014 has me (Mg,Fe)SiO(OH) a reference to the symbols for the mineral cummingtonite. A former student recalled her making a suggestive joke next to the word sex on one of his tests. Another student talked to friends about having sex with her. That boy eventually transferred to another school but Palmitessa continued teaching at the Brentwood high school.

In 2016, Palmitessa forged a relationship with a sophomore student in her honors chemistry class. She listened to him describe his shyness around girls. She defended him when he got in trouble for being at a party where students were filmed singing along to a rap song that included a racial slur. By the following year, she was welcoming visits from the student in her office almost every day.

Palmitessa sexually assaulted the boy, who was too young to legally consent, for the first time in June 2017. The student, referred to as John Doe in this story, was 17 years old and had never had sex before. They continued seeing each other secretly throughout the summer. Palmitessa instructed Doe to have rough sex with her. She assured him that they were a real couple. They had a fake wedding ceremony where they dressed up, exchanged vows and gave each other bracelets.

Does parents found out about Palmitessas relationship with their son in August 2017 and contacted law enforcement. Doe began recording his phone and video calls with the teacher. In those conversations, she veered between saying that she loved him and that she hated him.

Im gonna bite you. Im gonna draw blood, Palmitessa told Doe in one conversation, court records would later show. Youll be crying like a fucking bitch, but I dont care. I have no empathy. You deserve it. And youre so fucking cute that you have to be punished for being so fucking cute.

Palmitessa fretted about the start of a new school year, which would make it harder for them to see each other privately. She worried about girls giving him attention. She told him she didnt want to go to jail, according to court records.

The teacher was arrested on Aug. 18, 2017, a week after Does parents approached law enforcement. Prosecutors charged her with 12 felonies related to having sex with a minor.

Although Palmitessa was placed on administrative leave, the schools head, Michael Riera, urged parents in a series of emails to avoid speculating about what she did or talking to the media. Riera, who goes by Dr. Mike, emailed families a month after Palmitessas arrest to announce that the teacher had pleaded not guilty and was free on bail a message that some parents interpreted as an effort to minimize the seriousness of the allegations. Riera sent a follow-up email the next day clarifying that it is typical for defendants to plead not guilty in the early stages of criminal cases.

In February 2018, Dr. Mike told parents that Julie Yanow, a workplace investigator hired by the school to review the Palmitessa case, had completed her investigation. Dr. Mike pledged to develop a better system for reporting misconduct, but admitted no wrongdoing on the part of the school. He did not discuss the statutory rape allegations against Palmitessa he said only that she would not be returning to the school. Riera did not release the independent investigators report.

Some Brentwood School parents were dismayed by the schools cautious response: School officials avoided directly condemning Palmitessa. They didnt address how they had failed to protect Doe or how they would protect kids at the school from future predators. And several faculty members who had failed to report Palmitessas actions remained on the schools payroll.

They should have followed up with more information, one parent whose children went to Brentwood told HuffPost. Youre talking about a 45-year-old raping an underage kid. Here we are entrusting the school to take care of our kids and theyre not following up and telling us what theyre doing.

Even though they were paying the schools steep tuition fees, parents didnt feel they could pressure school administrators into being more transparent. They feared making a fuss might cost their kid a spot at the prestigious school, several parents said in interviews.

So on Aug. 6, 2018, Doe sued Brentwood School in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The 33-page complaint documented Palmitessas history of suggestive behavior toward students, even before Doe ended up in her classroom. In the complaint, Doe accused faculty and administrators of ignoring warning signs and failing to protect him from sexual abuse. The lawsuit, which included explicit details about how Palmitessa allegedly groomed and assaulted Doe, made headlines .

Then the case seemed to disappear.

Thats because Brentwood School quietly went to work trying to kill the lawsuit. Tucked into the schools enrollment agreement is a single paragraph about mandatory arbitration. According to the agreement, any controversy or claim related to the school must be dealt with in arbitration, a secretive process with no jury, little oversight and limited options for obtaining information from the other party or appealing decisions.