Georgia school was 'deliberately indifferent' to disabled girl sexually assaulted on bus for 17 days, says lawsuit
FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: A federal lawsuit filed in connection to a 14-year-old physically and mentally disabled girl, who was repeatedly sexually assaulted on a school bus, claims that the school district was "deliberately indifferent" to her plight.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported that the girl, identified only as 'Jane Doe,' was groped and molested by another student in their specialized school bus at least 10 times during a 17-day period between April 4 and April 20 last year.
Attorney A. Lee Parks, who is representing the victim and her mother, 'Jane Roe,' told 11Alive that someone with the school district had confirmed to him that the bus's on-board video and audio recordings had captured and recorded all of the attacks and described to him, in great detail, every one of the assaults.
The lawsuit, in turn, alleges a range of failures, including the removal of a regular employee monitor from the bus before the assaults occurred, and the dismissal of video and audio recordings which "could be accessed and reviewed on a daily basis," that directly implicates Fulton County Schools.
It ultimately says the school district was "deliberately indifferent to the sexual abuse and rape of Doe," who suffered damages that included emotional distress.
Parks said even though the audio recordings and video footage from the bus would "verify all of the plaintiff's allegations," Fulton County Schools had "refused to produce the footage to the plaintiff or her parents, denying her access to crucial evidence."
The lawsuit also points fingers at the bus's driver and accuses him of inaction. It states that this bus had just three to four rows of seating and that all these assaults occurred in full view of the driver.
It states that the abuse began after one student left his designated seat, sat next to the victim and groped her. When nothing was done, a second student was "emboldened by the lack of discipline and restraint" and began a series of escalating sexual assaults.
These sexual assaults eventually culminated in the victim's rape, and even then, the driver only reported that he "noticed something" despite the 14-year-old having been "stripped naked" and "physically battered."
"The bus driver, in this case, was completely derelict in his duties and repeatedly exhibited a willful and deliberate indifference to maintaining student discipline and ensuring student safety," the lawsuit said.
Parks said the driver on the bus -- described to be "like a big SUV" -- would have had a video monitor in front of him showing him what the camera, which was pointing back towards the students, was recording in real-time, including the assaults.
Fulton County Schools said in a statement that the driver was "immediately separated from the district," but Parks insisted more could have been done to prevent the "hellish abuse" the victim underwent.
"You just can't run a bus with a bus driver who is oblivious," the attorney said. "I mean, if this was a one-time incident, maybe he didn't catch it. Seventeen days! Of horrific, sexual assaults. That's a guy who, excuse the pun, is asleep at the wheel."
"The Fulton County School District is required by law to ensure all students are given a safe environment while at school and being transported," Parks continued. "It has wholly failed in that regard with respect to one of its most vulnerable students, and this lawsuit seeks to address the School District’s liability for creating an unsafe situation for a special needs student that exposed her to multiple sexual assaults over a 17-day period."