Crime & Safety
Child Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted By Fellow Student At Somerset Co. School, Lawsuit Says
The former student's parents have filed a lawsuit claiming the school failed to investigate the sexual assault reports.
BRANCHBURG, NJ — Parents of a middle school student are suing after he was allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulted while at Branchburg Central Middle School, and the district failed to investigate, according to court documents.
The lawsuit was filed in Somerset County Superior Court on Dec. 11 against the Branchburg School District, Board of Education, Superintendent Karen Chase, and Principal Beth Stanton.
The suit, filed anonymously by the parents of the child, says that the sexual assaults began in November 2023 after he joined the wrestling team.
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The child alleges that his fellow student and teammate "forcibly held him in a secluded area of the locker room" where he sexually assaulted him. He also alleges that the fellow student was much larger than he was and was unable to escape.
The assaults occurred around 10 to 15 times throughout the wrestling season. The student "did not report these incidents when they occurred because [the other student] threatened him with physical harm if he told anyone."
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The lawsuit also claims that more assaults happened after the wrestling season in the school bathroom, about 20 times from May 2024 to June 2024.
On June 12, 2024, the student reported to the school district that he was the victim of repeated sexual assaults by another student on school property.
The lawsuit claims the district failed to initiate an HIB investigation and failed to implement appropriate disciplinary action and/or remedial measures to protect the student.
"Defendants knew of the harassment and failed to take effective measures to reasonably address the harassment, intimidating and bullying to which the student was unmercifully subjected," according to the lawsuit.
As a result, the parents of the student are demanding judgment against the school district for compensatory damages, liquidated damages, punitive damages, interest, costs of suit, attorney’s fees, and enhanced attorney’s fees.
The Branchburg School District did not immediately return Patch's request for comment.
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