Lawsuit Filed After Boy Says He Was Sexually Abused By Classmate
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- Shocking allegations from an elementary school student who says another student bullied and sexually assaulted him. The boy's parents say the school did nothing.
Andrea Fujii explains the family filed a major lawsuit.
A Prince George's County family has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the Board of Education and a principal after their fifth-grade son was, they say, sexually abused by another boy in his class.
"It's ugly. It's sad and ugly. It happened a lot," said Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum, attorney.
Court papers say the predator was bullying the victim -- who is called JD in the documents -- by making sexually explicit comments, exposing his genitals, and placing JD's hand on the student's genitals several times a day. The documents say the predator also sent sexually explicit texts and voice messages to JD's phone and forced him to perform sexual acts in the school bathroom and classroom library.
The lawsuit claims that administrators and teachers knew about the abuse going on over an 18-month period and that nothing was done about it. In fact, the two boys were placed in the same fifth-grade class last year.
"I don't really understand why, it baffles my mind. But they just ignored the parents completely," said Krevor-Weisbaum.
"We have to be on the lookout for these things. If other children are demonstrating actions, we have to act sooner rather than later before another child gets hurt," said Adam Rosenberg, Baltimore Child Abuse Center.
Rosenberg says a change in behavior or a child speaking up should be taken seriously, especially by educators.
"Maryland staff, teachers, social workers, faculty--everybody is a mandatory reporter, meaning that they are required to report abuse in a situation when abuse is brought to their attention. And how do you report abuse? There's two ways: pick up the phone and call 911 or you can call your local child protective services," he said.
The family's lawyer says the child is no longer at the Robert Goddard Montessori School where they claim the abuse happened.
