CCSD teacher sues RJ for reporting on allegations of ‘disturbing’ conduct
A Las Vegas teacher accused of having an inappropriate fetish for “female bodily fluids” has sued the Las Vegas Review-Journal for reporting the claims against him.
The newspaper revealed in July that Clark County School District staff had renewed teacher Thuan Luu’s employment contract just weeks after a local therapist raised concerns about him through a district Public Concern Form.
The March 16 document alleged that Luu had a secret camera hidden in his glasses that recorded students sitting outside. It also claimed Luu took photos of menstrual blood on a student’s chair.
In her allegations, the therapist wrote that she only provided details on behaviors for which she had documented proof through photos, videos and handwritten letters.
“I realize that the information I have presented do not prove actual physical, nor illegal involvement with a student,” the therapist wrote. “However, the cumulative power of these points point [sic] a very disturbing, potentially dangerous, picture of this individual.”
Luu’s attorney, Shawanna Johnson, did not return a request for comment Thursday. She previously called the allegations against him “patently and absolutely false” and said that there has never been an investigation because there is nothing to investigate.
The district acknowledged in a letter to the therapist that it received her complaint but would not tell the Review-Journal whether it was investigating the allegations.
In October, Luu added the Review-Journal and reporter Sabrina Schnur to an ongoing defamation case in Clark County District Court that he filed against the therapist and Luu’s estranged wife. The amended complaint filed by Luu claims the videos were fabricated.
“We are confident our reporting was accurate and that we will be fully vindicated in the litigation brought against the Review-Journal,” said the Review-Journal’s chief legal officer, Benjamin Lipman.
The Review-Journal reported its story based on the Public Concern Form obtained from the Clark County School District through a public records request. Though the teacher’s name was redacted from that report, the Review-Journal obtained an unredacted copy that identified Luu.
In the lawsuit, Luu accuses his wife, Jung Min, of orchestrating false claims against him as a way to extort him for more money in their divorce. The therapist, who previously spoke to the Review-Journal on the condition she not be named, could not be reached for comment. Min’s attorney, Fred Page, declined to comment.
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Page wrote that his client is telling the truth and has images showing Luu’s “abhorrent conduct.”
Luu responded, alleging in a court document that Min has a history of fabricating evidence and making threats to “ruin” him.
“She literally made videos herself, spliced them together, and presented it as ‘evidence,’ ” the record states.
When the district received the complaint against Luu, he was teaching art at the Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy, according to the complaint and a message from the school district. The state license website indicates that he also taught at Twitchell Elementary School from 2015 through 2018.
The school district did not respond to an email from the Review-Journal sent Wednesday asking if Luu was still employed. The Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy website shows that a Marc Luu, a name for Luu that is in court documents, is employed as an art teacher.
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on X. Erickson is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.
