A new lawsuit claims that a 13-year-old student with intellectual disabilities at Hamilton Southeastern School was repeatedly sexually assaulted by other students and the school failed to act.
The boy had been sexually assaulted multiple times, including rape, between the beginning of last year and late January.
According to the lawsuit filed Monday in Hamilton County Superior Court, the boy told his parents that he had been forced to perform sex acts on himself in a middle school bathroom by other students. The boy eventually pointed out to his father the bathroom where he was allegedly sexually assaulted and threatened by other students.
In a statement, school district spokeswoman Emily Pace Abbotts said the district is aware of the lawsuit and takes it seriously, and that the HSE is cooperating with the legal process, but added that due to the sensitivity of the case, the district would not be commenting further or discussing the details of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit does not name the boy or the student who allegedly sexually assaulted him. The accused student was not in a special education class.
The boy has autism with speech impediments and other cognitive disabilities, and the lawsuit says he has significant difficulty “communicating with others and advocating for himself.”
The boy’s parents filed the lawsuit naming the district’s top administrators, including Superintendent Pat Mapes, who was hired in February, and Crystal Thorpe, who was the school’s principal. Thorpe has since resigned from her position, according to a district personnel report.
According to the lawsuit, the boy began exhibiting symptoms of anxiety at school in late 2023. The boy believed he had AIDS and asked his parents questions about sexual assault and sexually transmitted diseases, specifically AIDS.
He asked again about sexual assault, so his parent explained the full definition of rape.
In early February, the boy told another student about the forced interactions and claimed he needed help, and that classmate told the teacher named in the lawsuit.
A school counselor then emailed and called the parents about an incident in which the son had been taken into a bathroom by another student and asked to engage in “inappropriate behavior,” which the student told a classmate was forced oral sex.
According to the lawsuit, the parents then went to the school and demanded to speak with the principal, but the principal refused to let them see them. They spoke with the vice principal, who simply asked what they wanted to do but did not provide a plan.
“When these allegations came to light we took appropriate steps to ensure a safe learning environment,” HSE spokesperson Pace Abbotts said in a statement. “Our number one priority is the safety and wellbeing of all students entrusted to our care.”
The victim’s family made different claims in the lawsuit.
The parents reported their son’s allegations to police and then contacted the Department of Child Welfare after hearing that his son’s school had not filed accurate reports with the state.
The lawsuit alleges that the school “failed to investigate the reported sexual abuse, failed to promptly interview teachers, students and others, and failed to review and protect documents, such as emails and videotapes, that may have shed light on the abuse.”
The lawsuit says the boy’s mental health was damaged as a result of the abuse, and the family is seeking damages.
According to the lawsuit, the abuse left the parents having to answer questions from their son such as, “Was this my fault?”
Rachel Fradette is WFYI’s statehouse education reporter. Contact Rachel at [email protected].