Lawsuit: 8-year-old girl with Down syndrome repeatedly raped, beaten on school bus

[KamaAina]

http://q13fox.com/2015/05/18/lawsuit-8-year-old-girl-with-down-syndrome-repeatedly-raped-beaten-on-school-bus/

The parents of a 8-year-old girl with Down syndrome are suing Yakima School District No. 7 for allegedly failing to stop a disabled 5th grade boy from repeatedly sexually and physically abusing the girl while the two rode a school bus.

The lawsuit, filed by the Tamaki Law Offices in Yakima, alleges the girl was repeatedly assaulted from Sept. 2013 until March of 2014. The assaults allegedly ranged in duration from several minutes to 15 minutes each, and were often filmed by a school bus camera. The suit alleges both the bus driver and the school district were negligent, and failed to supervise its students properly.

According to the lawsuit, the abuse — which occurred on a special needs bus — included, “punching, pinching, scratching, hitting, slapping” and multiple sexual assaults. The abuse was reported on March 27 when the girl arrived home with bruises and deep scratches on her face. The family notified the school, who allegedly discovered the abuse had been happening for months. The bus driver was put on leave and the suspected perpetrator, an 11-year-old boy who also has severe disabilities, was immediately expelled.

According to police documents, the boy allegedly sat next to the victim every day. In at least one video, police said, the boy was allegedly seen manipulating the girl “like a doll,” putting her face in his lap, grabbing her crotch and kissing her.

[aikoaiko]

1. It must have been horrifying for the girl to get on the bus everyday.

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. yes

[In_The_Wind]

2. Why wasn't there an aide on the bus?

[KamaAina]

3. Excellent question.

[Kalidurga]

4. A very good question

If several or most of the kids were being loud and they were loud most of the time, I can understand why the driver might not have known what was going on. If this is a constant thing it's not like he or she can pull over every time there is loud unruly behavior or the bus is just not going to go anywhere.

[In_The_Wind]

6. When I drove a school bus: There were smaller bus with aides for special needs children.

It was a safety issue then and it still is today.

[Kalidurga]

7. Yes this story makes it apparent why it's a safety issue

not to mention accidents can happen in that environment much faster than a bus driver can pull over.

[mythology]

8. Probably a money issue

Not that a bus aide would cost that much in the grand scheme of things.

I hope both kids get the help they need.

[In_The_Wind]

16. It's a minimum wage job for two or three hours each day.

Poor kids.

[BrotherIvan]

13. Aides have been gone from schools for a long time

Some schools may still be able to afford it, but in California they are few and far between. Parents are also no longer allowed to volunteer because of liability concerns. Schools are overcrowded with too few staff including teachers, proctors and aides. Been that way for a long time.

[In_The_Wind]

15. That figures. Last time I drove a school bus was over 20 years ago. We called all children

precious cargo. Parents couldn't volunteer in New York for the same reasons.

[BrotherIvan]

17. It is heartbreaking to see what has been done to school

Kids going through metal detectors and shoved in classes or thirty or more. In the few years that I taught, there were all grade levels and many different languages in the same room. It was so hard to give them even a passing education, but we all tried our best because we remembered what school used to be like.

[Mike Nelson]

5. Kids with severe disabilities...

...should be provided with supervision.

[historylovr]

9. You'd think that would be self-evident, right?

[cyberswede]

10. Jesus Christ.

[freshwest]

11. Typical. Don't even ask me why I know this. n/t

[lpbk2713]

12. Put on leave??

If it had been going on for that long I'd have to say the driver was an accessory at the very least.

[BrotherIvan]

14. Horrible

[brer cat]

19. That poor child.

Very hard to comprehend how such abuse could have gone on so long without anyone knowing.

I hope at a minimum the school district pays for a long period of counseling and private school tuition if that is what her parents want.

[KamaAina]

20. They will, one way or another

They can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way would be to make that part of their settlement offer in the suit. The hard way would be to let it go to trial.