How AI Legalese Decoder Can Provide Clarity and Accountability in Cases of School Sexual Assault: A Case Study in US-MI
- May 9, 2024
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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# Seeking Justice for my Autistic Son
I am the parent of a 6-year-old autistic son who has recently experienced a troubling incident at school. The other night, before bedtime, he tearfully requested a Robux gift card from my wife to give to a classmate in exchange for him to stop touching my son. This alarming revelation prompted us to launch an investigation with the school to understand the situation better.
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# Upholding Accountability in the Face of Adversity
Despite our efforts, the school’s investigation has fallen short of our expectations. They assured us that the children would be separated and interviews would be conducted, but the process seems more focused on avoiding liability rather than seeking justice for my son. The lack of thorough investigation and accountability is deeply concerning.
# Exploring Legal Options and Seeking Support
As a concerned parent, I am left wondering if legal intervention is necessary to address this issue. Are there avenues for legal assistance available to victims like my son? While I may not have the financial means to hire a lawyer independently, the situation demands action to ensure justice is served.
# Advocating for Fair Treatment and Accountability
The lack of thorough investigation by the school and the insensitive questioning of my son only add to the distress of the situation. It is crucial to advocate for fair treatment and accountability for all parties involved, especially my son who deserves a safe and supportive learning environment.
# Conclusion: Seeking Justice and Support
As I navigate through this challenging time, I am grateful for the support and advice offered by the community. It is essential to stand up for my son and seek justice through the appropriate legal channels. Together, we can ensure that his rights are protected and that accountability is upheld in the face of adversity.
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OP, is this is a public school? If so, they have investigatory obligations under Title IX in sexual harassment cases. You can ask to speak with/file a complaint with the Title IX Coordinator for the School District. If you believe that that the District is not complying with Title IX, you can file a complaint with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
What exactly does separating the students mean? I haven’t been in elementary school in a while but 5th graders didn’t usually hang out with 6 year olds when I was there. Especially when they are special needs.
Also I am so sorry this happened to your son.
My advice as a former sex crimes detective. Would be this:
Contact the local law enforcement that has jurisdiction for your child’s school and file a report.
This is important for several reasons.
1: Documents the incident and what has occurred and what didn’t. The things that haven’t happened are just as important as what did happen.
2: The child will go to their local child advocacy center and have their version of events recorded. This will protect the child from having to repeat the incident over and over again.
3: Most states have a victims compensation law. This will allow for your child to go to counseling that is paid for. Some states will reimburse the cost if you choose not to wait. The advocates at the CAC should be a good resource for you.
As others have pointed out. There may not be any criminal charges based on the suspects age. However, making sure your child is mentally okay should be the first priority.
An interview conducted by the CAC will also depend on your child’s age and their mental maturity.
Also, yes the school has the legal obligation to investigate these incidents and protect the child.
My experience with schools has been disappointing. They will absolutely protect themselves from anyone challenging them. I have personally seen schools wipe servers and destroy evidence as an “accident”. They will even do this if one of their own teacher’s children are potential victims.
The local school administration is usually guided by the school district attorney’s who will tell them what to do. So keep that in mind.
As far as getting help from the police. The initial officer will take the report and send it to their detective division. It’ll usually take a week or two for that to happen. Then it’ll probably be another week for it to get sent to a detective. Depending on your police department’s case load. It could be a while as they will filter cases by threats to their victims.
Be the squeaky wheel. Find out where your child’s case is. Speak with the detective, call their supervisor if needed. Call the division commander and or the chief if needed.
I hope this helps!
Edited for spelling.
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Has a police report been filed?
Have you spoken to the police or CPS?
Yes. Get a lawyer to advocate for your son here. You should have your son interviewed and recorded by a forensic child psychologist who is recommended by your lawyer.
Also call your district attorney and find out what is going on. Call the police department and demand to know where the investigation is going.
What’s the status of the police investigation?
Beyond what you are doing, if you don’t feel that the school is doing enough to keep the two separate, you can contact a lawyer to have a protection order put in place now that you’ve made a police report. That can force a safety plan on the school or it’s possible if an adequate safety plan can’t be put into place, the other child may have to be removed. I would also have your child placed in therapy and see what the therapist states about what the school’s questioning is doing to impact your child. The therapist may be able to squash the re-traumitization your child is experiencing at the hands of the school. You can also report the school for a Title IX violation. But you may never know if the other child is actually removed from school or the disciplinary outcome because of laws protecting student confidentiality when it comes to their education. Also know you can report this incident to CPS as molesting another child is normally a sign a child is being either molested themselves or being neglected in regard to finding sexual material online. Your concentration should be on protecting your child, not the schools punishment for the other child.
My child had another student slapping his butt every time he got out of his seat or bent over. The child was gone from class for a 1/2 day, returned to school the next day and continued the behavior. The school told me they did everything they were supposed to do. A lot of schools do not take action until lawyers are involved.
Please contact CPS and the police. This is the route you need to go to protect yourself and your child and ensure the school investigate a properly.
Signed, a former teacher.
If you think the kindergarten is ignoring the circumstances that led to this event and sweeping it under the rug then it could be considered child neglect or possibly a Title IX violation. But they separated the students, maybe they had discussion with the other students and their parents and there is info you are not aware of. The school does not have to tell you what actions they may have taken with other parties. CPS or Dept. of Education could investigate and find that the school took appropriate action.
If you find that perhaps the teacher knew these kinds of actions were going on and did not report them then you should not be talking to the school. You should be taking to a lawyer for the possibility of there being child neglect and civil liability.
The other kid being a 5th grader and most likely over 10 then I would report it to LE and ask for a child forensic exam
Make a police report. This will trigger an ACTUAL investigation. People don’t understand that interviewing children requires a special skillset, especially at an age this young.
That child learned that behavior somewhere and even he didn’t, there needs to be some sort of intervention at a higher level than the kid’s school environment to make sure everything is okay. Additionally, this will not trigger too much criminally (usually) as a child that young will not be competent for trial (generally speaking) and receive some sort of mandatory services ordered through the court.
You won’t just be protecting your son, you’ll be protecting future victims as well.
My son was abused repeatedly in the public schools in Lewistown, IL, and all they did was cover it up and blame him. Two of my other children weee bullied and what actually worked was getting bigger and older kids to warm the bullies off.
Most counties/cities have a victims services agency that can help navigate situations like this and support those going through it.
You can usually access these services independent of a police investigation. Victim advocates can be helpful for emotional support, as well as understanding what steps you may want to take. I understand it’s complicated as there is another child and the school involved.
The Office for Victims of Crimes (OVC) government website has a searchable database for agencies and services by location.
Yes definitely get a lawyer involved. Schools always have their own best interest a heart.
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A few things to note:
1. As others mentioned, the possibility of a Title IX investigation/complaint sounds like the best way to try to handle this, I should note that the Title IX process is not necessarily transparent however…
2. Schools absolutely can try to cover stuff up at times, they don’t want bad statistics. Police on the other hand will be a lot more likely to escalate to CPS if warranted.
3. Depending on other issues an IEP may be warranted in the future. I say this because it tends to be an additional way to hold the school accountable for their fuckups, as well as ensuring your child gets proper educational accomodations as needed.
4. As far as the questions they asked your son, the first one is condescending and reductive, the second is a fair question just to make sure it’s not a vendetta or something silly… still a bit tone deaf to be sure.
5. Is this a private school? Private schools are really good at ‘quiet firing’ students on the spectrum; stuff like being asked not to attend specific functions or ‘lost’ invitations to said functions, punishment for your child being obviously more severe than other students for similar infractions, being told that reporting an incident could cause them getting detention… if you see any of these signs from a private school, it’s time to go.
6. If it’s a public school you could always see whether there’s a way to bring it up at the board, if there is a process for doing so.
Schools are NOT independent countries. Contact the appropriate law enforcement agency (police or sheriff) and insist on a criminal investigation.
OP you have every right to be incredibly upset. The school is likely following whatever procedure is outlined by the district policies, but they have insurance and they can absolutely be sued for negligence if this incident occured due to a lapse of student safety procedures at the school. I encourage you to get a lawyer. Do not engage the school in any further discussion without a lawyer present.
The child in question absolutely should be charged, and the police will need to gather evidence and statements before that can happen, so be patient while you figure out a lawyer. Please also try to be mindful that in cases like these, the offender almost always is an active victim of sexual abuse or has a history of being sexually abused previously.
It doesn’t excuse what they did to your son AT ALL, and police pressing charges will get the offender the help they need with psychiatric services etc and get to the bottom of what’s happening in this offending individuals life. With the admissions you have from the offendor i dont see police not pressing charges unless the student is of an age below the minimum statute for charges. If the student is too young, the issue will be passed on to child protective services. There also needs to be an investigation into whether the school allowed this incident to occur because of lapse in supervision or student safety protocols.
I also strongly recommend you get your son in for a few therapy sessions to address any feelings – anger, anxiety, sadness, confusion etc that he may be feeling in the wake of his assault. Best of luck to you, don’t let this go.
The school is going to do everything it can to cover it’s ass, it’s also likely the local police will also assist in shoving things under the rug as it’s the city that could get sued. Sounds to me like it’s lawyer time.
What are you expecting the school to do?
Maybe try your county child advocacy center
File a police report and get an attorney immediately
Not really legal advice, but you need to understand that 5th grade students usually fall between 9 – 11 years old and often kids that have been m’lested are ones that perpetrate it against other students, be in same-age or younger. I was m’lested by a 15 year old when I was 12 (related) and the most that would have happened had I said anything would be maybe CPS getting involved and I or the m’lester (who was not a victim of CSA but had lots of awful internet access he groomed me with) would have been removed from the home. Aside from either this student or your child being sent to another school, there really isn’t any “legal” recourse for a crime committed by someone so young and I find it questionable that you’re not approaching this with any concern for the literal child who touched your kid. Like, even being a victim of m’lestation, I’d be very concerned if a 10 yr old was going around doing that stuff. He/she is probably getting abused at home or by a relative and an incident like this could make it worse. That kid is also entitled to privacy so you don’t really have a right to know either way. Regardless, please get your son into therapy NOW and make sure he understands he has bodily autonomy and doesn’t have to comply if another child or an adult want to touch him. That includes you, however.
Edit (extra note)
Now, if it’s a public school and there is a history of certain harmful behaviors from the 5th grader, he may get sent to a school specializing in kids with behavioral issues. But in terms of legal recourse … what do you even want? The fact of the matter is your kid went through something many would consider traumatic and your focus needs to be on his mental and physical wellbeing. That may mean homeschooling him for a while or transferring him somewhere else. Do you know what the circumstances were around when the incident happened? Is the older student also in SPED? Whether the school tries to legally cover its ass is kind of besides the point. They cannot compel the older student to get therapy for whatever is going on there – that would have to happen in court. I can understand you wanting some kind of greater justice but seeing as you likely won’t get it, truly you ought to just focus on helping your kid process this and feel safe. You could potentially try taking legal action against the kid’s parents, but depending on their home situation it may be a horrible idea. Just try gathering information on them and keeping track of all comversations and actions to prevent them from getting in contact with each other. Maybe go to a lawyer, if just to see what your options are given the circumstances? The more you know, the better decision(s) you can make.
“Touching [your] son” in what way? Pushing, hitting, touching inappropriately? I don’t like to assume. I remember when I was in 2nd grade and my classmate thinking he was funny and pranking me held a pencil in my seat and it stabbing my thigh. He was sorry and I wasn’t severely injured and I don’t recall if I told my teacher or not. If I did, it definitely wasn’t escalated. We were still cool and even participated in French Honor Society in HS putting on a French skit together.
Also, It’s been a while since I’ve been in elementary 90s and it might have changed but lunch period was by class—all K ate together, all 1st, 2nd and so on. Never did 5th graders eat with kindergartners.
I hope you get answers and resolution of what went wrong. My empathy goes out to your son and family.