Students Sexually Assaulted Boy With Special Needs Behind Snow Bank At District 15 School: Lawsuit

PALATINE, IL — A lawsuit filed last month against Consolidated Community School District 15 by the parents of a boy with special needs accuses Marion Jordan Elementary School staffers of ignoring the bullying and attacks three years ago against their son, who was allegedly sexually assaulted behind a snow bank by other students on campus, the Daily Herald reports.

The parents, who are are from Inverness, are seeking $300,000 in damages, claiming their son has sufferend extreme emotional distress, as well as serious injuries from the assaults and harassment.

But District 15 Superintendent Scott Thompson told the Herald Thursday that the school system investigated the assault claims in 2014 and found no evidence of wrongdoing. The district also notified the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about the allegations, and Thompson said the agency couldn't find enough evidence to start an investigation, the report added.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in Cook County circuit court in January, the parents claim their son — referred to as "Doe Child" in court papers — was bullied and assaulted at least twice from December of 2013 to February of 2014 while he attended Marion Jordan Elementary School, the report stated. At the time, the boy was 11 or 12 years old, and he suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a language disorder, the report added.

Doe Child's behavioral differences made him a target for bullying from classmates, the report stated. According to the lawsuit, the worst instance was when at least two students took the boy behind a large snow pile on Jordan Elementary's campus and sexually assaulted him away from faculty and recess supervisors, the report added.

The parents informed Jordan Principal Jenny Grosch in Februray 2014 about that and other incidents concerning their son, the report stated. The school determined the students — including Doe Child — were playing a consenual "bull-riding game," but Grosch told the parents that the other students should apologize to their son about the incident, the report added.

That was insufficient for the parents, who pulled their son out of Jordan Elementary and enrolled him in a private school days later, the report stated. The Department of Children and Family Services also was contacted by Doe Child's aunt, and the DCFS informed Palatine police about the matter, the report added.

More via the Daily Herald

image via Community Consolidate School District 15

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