AP News, January 17th, 2008
A federal jury has ruled in favor of a school district accused by the mother of a kindergartner of doing nothing to stop what she called the sexual abuse of her daughter by a classmate.
In her lawsuit, the plaintiff accused the Eanes Independent School District and Valley View Elementary School Principal Jennifer Dusek of not notifying her for several weeks after the mother of another student told Dusek her daughter and the plaintiff's had been abused by a classmate.
The district argued that the mother of the second student never told Dusek that the plaintiff's daughter had also been abused. The abuse is alleged to have occurred during the 2005-06 school year.
Ending a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, the jury answered "no" when asked whether the district had been told the child was sexually harassed and whether that harassment deprived her of educational benefits or opportunities.
"Our standard for safety and well-being for students is important to us and we're pleased that that was found to be true," Eanes Superintendent Nola Wellman said outside court, the Austin American-Statesman reported on its Web site.
The Associated Press generally does not identify the victims of sexual abuse, and identifying the mothers could reveal the identities of the alleged victims.
The two girls, now 7, testified that a classmate had taught them a game that involved the classmate, who court documents indicate had previously been abused sexually, touching the two other girls inappropriately and performing oral sex on them during nap time and on the playground, the girls testified.
The lawsuit claimed that the mother of the allegedly abusive girl had informed the principal that her child, who had been a victim of sexual abuse, might be a threat to other children.
The plaintiff left the courtroom without commenting. The mother of the other student who alleged abuse, who also sued the district but whose claims were dismissed before trial, sobbed outside the courthouse.
"My main goal was to make sure that the school take responsibility for what they let happen," she said. "Now it seems like they are questioning whether it ever happened."
