Third Graders Sexually Harassed And Abused Girl, Suit Alleges

LOS ANGELES, CA —A lawsuit filed against the Alhambra Unified School District Thursday alleges officials at Garfield Elementary stood by while a group of third-grade boys sexually harassed and abused a classmate.

The lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The victim, identified as Jane Doe, was allegedly bullied and sexually abused by a group of boys in her class repeatedly, the lawsuit contends.

An AUSD representative could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, the problems started in the fall when the girl was regularly bullied by a group of boys, and the behavior escalated over time even after the girl's parents complained to the school administration and staff. During school hours, a group of the boys ordered her to choose with who among them she preferred to have sex, threatening to make her "twerk" on a lunch table if she did not decide, the suit alleges.

"Confused and not understanding what sex or twerking was, Jane Doe told the boys she picked her mom." In response, they mocked, berated, harassed and embarrassed the girl, the suit states.

After learning what happened to her daughter, the girl's mother immediately informed the school, and her parents met with school staff, asking that their daughter not be allowed to play with one of the boys her tormentors.

However, the abuse only escalated, according to the lawsuit. That same month, the girl was "viciously attacked" and pushed down some stairs, according to the suit, which says she was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a concussion.

Her mother again contacted the school, told the staff what happened and said she did not feel her daughter was safe if allowed to interact with the boys bullying her, the suit states. The girl and her mother, as well as the principal, subsequently signed an AUSD growth achievement plan stating there would be further no contact between the plaintiff and the group of boys, according to the suit.

According to the lawsuit, none of the boys were suspended or disciplined as a result of their behavior and nothing was done by the school administration or staff "to stop the systematic bullying and sexual harassment" of the girl.

One of the boys used the conflict to confuse the plaintiff and pretend to act as her protector, manipulating her into spending time with him while at the same time demeaning and bullying her, according to the suit. During a school lunch break, the girl was in a restroom when the boy walked in and ordered her to open the stall door, telling her "that they were going to have sex," the suit states.

The boy later warned the girl that if she told anyone, "she would go to jail," the suit alleges.

Over the next two days, the boy forced the girl to go with him to the girls' restroom three times and on two occasions sexually abused her, according to the complaint.

The girl became withdrawn and visibly upset, yet the school staff failed to learn of the sexual abuses "or even prevent a boy and a girl from going into this restroom during lunch period," the suit says.

After seeing some "alarming changes in her daughter," the mother spoke with the girl, who told her that the boy sexually abused her, the suit alleges. The mother called the police, who went to the school and spoke with the girl.

The girl's parents have had to get medical and professional help for their daughter and expect to have to pay for future care, the suit states.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.