LOS ANGELES – Two boys who were molested by a Los Angeles elementary school teacher will receive more than $3 million each in a settlement issued by a jury this week.

The Los Angeles Unified School District accepted liability for hiring Telfair Elementary School teacher Paul Chapel III and failing to properly supervise him as he molested 13 children over several years and a jury trial this week set the compensation for two of his victims, the Los Angeles Times reports.

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District officials offered the boys lightly less than $500,000 for touching and kissing both boys during the 2011-12 school year, but the victims’ attorneys wanted $5 million each.

District attorneys argued the victims received medical treatment and are now doing well in school as justification for the lower payout, while the victims’ attorneys contend one of the boys suffers from reoccurring flashbacks and nightmares and the other fears of being kidnapped because of the abuse.

“The scars of sexual abuse will never go away,” said Vince Finaldi, the attorney who represented the victims. “It’s like the emotional murder of a part of your life.”

LAUSD hired Chapel in 1988 and did not terminate the teacher when he was arrested and tried for allegedly abusing a neighbor boy in 1997, a case that resulted in a hung jury, according to the Times.

“But several teachers at his first school, Andasol Elementary in Northridge, and at Telfair had complained about his behavior, according to court documents. Teachers said Chapel placed children on his lap, closed his classroom door when he had students inside during lunch and recess and attempted to take them on unauthorized field trips,” the news site reports.

“In March 2011, a parent complained to then-Telfair Principal Alfonso Jimenez that Chapel would kiss boys and girls in class. Jimenez interviewed several children and confirmed the allegations but allowed Chapel to remain in the classroom for six more weeks until he was removed April 15.”

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NBC Los Angeles reports 54-year-old Chapel is now serving a 25-year sentence after he pleaded no contest in 2012 to molesting 13 boys over a 4 ½ year period.

Another attorney representing the two boys in the most recent court decision, John Manly, told the Times the families offered to settle the case for less, but the district refused.

“This is a total black eye on the district,” he said. “What this shows is that jurors in this city are not going to stand for a school district that doesn’t effectively deal with molesters.”

LAUSD officials declined to comment on Thursday’s verdict.

Jurors deliberated for less than a day before they awarded $3.1 million in damages to one victim, now 14, and $3,085,700 to the other, who is now 13. The jury set the payment for pain and suffering at $2.75 million each, with the remainder to cover costs, NBC Los Angeles reports.

According to the site, LAUSD agreed last June to pay $5 million to another group of former Telfair students, and a $4.42 million settlement with three other students this May.

LAUSD attorney David Holmquist issued a statement that seems to indicate the district may appeal this week’s settlement.

“We are currently weighing our options going forward in light of our review of certain aspects of the trial,” the statement read.