Female student, 17, sexually assaulted by teen males in 'woke' LA school restroom
A shocking incident of sexual assault has rattled Hamilton High School in Westside Los Angeles, a well-known 'woke' school in the district. A 17-year-old female student was allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of male students. The attack took place in a boys' restroom near the basketball gym on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. Moreover, the entire assault was filmed by another student and later released on social media.
According to authorities, multiple boys took part in the assault where at least one male student had sexual contact with the victim, all the while the assault was being filmed. Presently, no arrests have been made yet as the police department and the school district are still probing the incident. In September 2021, a New Jersey high school teacher was accused of allegedly sexually abusing one of her students and later dosing them with “controlled dangerous substances”. Christine Knudsen, a 44-year-old graphics arts teacher at Fair Lawn High School, was accused of second-degree sexual assault by a supervisor of a person under age 16.
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Speaking to KTTA, the female student at Hamilton High School admitted feeling unsafe on campus for a long time. "I feel scared. My mom can attest to this, I was telling my mom for a while now that there are points when I feel unsafe on campus and this happening last week just proved it," she shared. Her mother also confirmed the same, adding, "I'm in a terrible position of telling my daughter that it is safe to go to school. This is our school. We've been here many, many years. This is not my first daughter in this school."
The survivor reported the sexual assault to school administrators who later informed the police. LA Police detective Brent Hopkins revealed, "There was one female student and a group of males in the bathroom. It is not clear how many were involved, but one had sexual contact with her. We have received a copy of that. The school has been very helpful and is working with us." He further mentioned that the LAPD detectives are working to remove the video from social media.
In an official statement about the incident, the school district stated, "The school administration immediately and proactively began coordinating with the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Unified School Police to investigate the issue. Our school crisis team was also activated and students were given an opportunity to speak to counselors about their concerns. At this point, this situation is an ongoing police investigation."
In the recent months, incidents of violence and crime has seen a considerable rise in the Hamilton school campus. In fact, in September 2021, a video of a violent fight between two students of the school surfaced on social media, where one of the students were found to be carrying a gun in their waistband.
The school is well-known in the area for its past academic and athletic success and special programs focused on business, technology, performing arts, humanities and advanced studies. The school premises might appear familiar to many as it had been used as a set for TV shows like 'Beverly Hills 90210', 'That's So Raven', 'My So-Called Life' and 'Sister, Sister'.
Reports have now been cited that the Los Angeles Board of Education cut down the school police budget by a whopping $25 million in 2020. The decision was opposed by several board members who were former school principals. Overall, a 35 percent budgetary cut was made in the school police force in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests and demands for defunding the police.