Article author:
Associated Press
Matthew Barakat
Falls Church, Virginia (AP) —Two that have long plagued Virginia's largest school system with allegations of ignoring student accusations. The number of litigation sexual assaults has returned to the Associated Press.
One of the proceedings included a horrific allegation of abuse received by a junior high school student in Fairfax County, which served as the basis for a 2014 federal investigation. The
proceeding was filed before the pandemic and received a low level of attention when involved in the appeal. Now, both cases are moving forward again as the school's response to alleged sexual assault is being more closely monitored, as evidenced by the attention of the people of neighboring Loudoun County.
A junior high school student filed an amended complaint earlier this month after the school board's efforts to thwart her proceedings were denied. According to the proceedings, her trials began in October 2011, when she was a seventh grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston. Her classmate began telling others that he was engaged in sexual activity with the girl, identified only by her initials in the proceedings.
As rumors spread, she began to face harassment and slander in her hallway lockers. She then claims that her school boy began to sexually assault her on a daily basis, and sometimes others joined her assault and threatened her to be silent.
According to the proceedings, the assault occurred over several months. The girl was evaluated by a nurse who confirmed a scar consistent with her anal rape, but the school's resource officer agreed to dismiss the activity.
School officials agreed, even though the girl was 12 years old and had sought protection from managers and counselors while the agreement was still in place. Based on this, the assault was downplayed and kept to a minimum.
She also claims that on school grounds, a group of boys pushed her into the closet and sexually assaulted her.
Finally, in 2012, the girl's mother filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Department of the US Department of Education. After two years of investigation, the school system signed a voluntary resolution agreement. The agreement did not allow fraud, but agreed to improve tracking and response to alleged sexual assault.
The proceedings were filed in 2019. The proceedings have been pending because the school system opposed her proceedings under a pseudonym. The school system appealed to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond and unanimously ruled in favor of the girl.
In a statement, the Fairfax County Public School fully cooperated with the investigation, stating that police and prosecutors refused criminal charges. The school system also stated that the girl's allegations in the proceedings were more serious than what she first reported to school officials. She admits in the proceedings that she first described her abuse as bullying, not as sexual assault or harassment.
"We continue to believe that senior staff acted appropriately and legally to address this family's concerns 11 years ago," the school system said in a statement. increase.
Another proceeding is about a girl in Oakton High School who said she had been sexually assaulted by a boy on a bus while traveling to a school band. The case was brought to justice in 2019. The jury ruled that the girl had been assaulted and she ruled in favor of the school system, but she did not properly inform the school system of what had happened to her.
However, on appeal, the Fourth Circuit ruled 9-6 in favor of the girl and sent the case back to Alexandria for a new trial.
Appeal decision turns what appears to be a case based on the question he asked if the girl was assaulted, into a case that could significantly change the scope of Title IX. I did. A year-old law prohibiting gender discrimination in education.
The dissenting judge said the school system should not be held liable for sexual assault unless there is some reason to know in advance that the perpetrator poses a risk.
Judges who have ruled in favor of Oakton students should be eligible for a "one free rape" before the school system is held accountable for its policies and procedures. Said not.
Alexandra Brodsky, a public justice lawyer representing Oakton students, has approved the pursuit of legal strategy by the allegedly progressive school board of Fairfax County. He said he was particularly concerned about that. It can help win a proceeding against Oakton students and set a dangerous precedent that undermines student abuse protection.
"Fairfax County is calling on the Supreme Court to eradicate Title IX protection against survivors of sexual assault," Brodsky said.
Brodsky said there is growing awareness that schools cannot support students reporting sexual assault and sexual harassment, especially in Fairfax County, the tenth largest school system in the United States. ..
High school students throughout the county staged strikes protesting administrative omissions against their claims. As required by law, the two principals were charged with criminal charges for failing to report allegations of sex crimes to police.
Much of that scrutiny has been driven by conservative political activists. In Loudon County, the school system faced fierce opposition to the treatment of sexual assault. This became a national rally for conservative media, as the perpetrators of the two cases were boys in skirts.
While Transphobia has received some attention on Loudon's problems, "I don't think it means that there are no sincere bipartisan concerns about these problems .... Students. Protecting against sexual abuse should be a nonpartisan issue. ”