NYC Schools Ignored Students Who Reported Sex Assaults: Lawsuit

NEW YORK — After they were raped, assaulted or harassed by fellow students, four girls — all students of color with disabilities — were ignored when they went to New York City school officials for help, a new lawsuit alleges.

The complaint filed Monday in Brooklyn federal court describes disturbing attacks and the Department of Education's failure to address them, court records show.

Two of the girls were raped in middle school, according to the complaint. One was punched and sexually assaulted. Another was groped by a classmate multiple times. But school personnel didn't investigate any of the attacks or take steps to keep the students safe after learning about them, the complaint alleges.

"Sadly, these students’ traumatic experiences are by no means isolated or unusual," said Amy Leipziger, a senior staff attorney at Legal Services NYC, which is handling the case. "... Despite being on notice, the DOE has repeatedly failed these and other students who are being sexually assaulted and traumatized on their watch."

School officials also have not taken required steps to support the girls in their educations as they have grappled with trauma from the attacks, the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint accuses the DOE of violating Title IX, the federal civil rights law barring sex discrimination in educational programs, along with other federal and city laws. It seeks an order requiring the DOE to follow the federal laws and award damages to the students.

The DOE will review the lawsuit, department spokesman Doug Cohen said.

"Our schools must be safe and inclusive environments, and there is absolutely zero tolerance for any sexual misconduct," Cohen said in a statement.

The four students, identified by pseudonyms in the complaint, range in age from 11 to 18 years old. Two were at schools in Queens when they were assaulted, while the other two were attended schools in The Bronx.

One 11-year-old girl called Anna Doe was raped in a shed on her way home from school last June, according to the complaint. The alleged perpetrator was a boy whom she recognized from an after-school program.

When Anna's mother met with the school's principal and assistant principal about what happened, they raised questions about why she was with the boy, "implying that she was partly to blame for the rape," the complaint says. Since the attack she has struggled to sleep, had symptoms of depression and failed to meet goals in school, according to the lawsuit.

Another girl called Jane Doe, 14, endured sexual harassment at the hands of a 14-year-old boy when she was in sixth grade in the fall of 2016, the complaint says. Her mother reported the behavior to police and the school and was told that the boy was suspended, according to the suit.

But he allegedly didn't stop. Starting in early 2017, the boy regularly groped Jane and tried to kiss her, according to the complaint. And last September, he allegedly cornered her in a stairwell and raped her despite her repeatedly screaming "No!"

Jane reported the rape to three school employees and eventually to her mother, but the school did not bother to investigate it, the complaint says.

A group of boys punched a third girl, 13-year-old Maria Doe, and harassed her throughout her sixth-grade year, the lawsuit says. In the spring of the 2017-18 school year, a boy tried to put his fingers in her vagina on three separate occasions, according to the complaint. When she reported the first assault to an assistant dean at the school, he allegedly said, "oh, he just likes you."

The fourth student, 18-year-old Lisa Doe, was groped by another girl at her Bronx school three days in a row last September, the complaint says. The girl, serving a suspension at the time, then attacked Lisa at a bus stop the following month.

Lisa got a 20-day suspension because of the altercation, according to the lawsuit.

The DOE said one of its Chancellor's Regulations sets out protocols requiring that student-on-student sexual harassment be immediately reported and investigated. Every school must also have a poster with information about how to report sexual harassment allegations, the department said.

"Any allegation must be reported, investigated and addressed, and this work is a shared responsibility of all DOE staff including the Sexual Harassment Liaisons in every school and a Title IX coordinator who oversees DOE compliance," said Cohen, the DOE spokesman.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the day of the week on which the complaint was filed. It was Monday, not Tuesday.