The mother of one of the first-grade boys who were allegedly sexually abused at Estes Hills Elementary School has filed a lawsuit against Chapel Hill Public Schools.
According to the lawsuit, three first-grade boys were sexually abused in the cafeteria, bathroom, hallways, bus, and playground at recess. The suit claims that school officials didn’t protect the students or inform their parents, guardians, therapists or law enforcement about the incidents.
“All defendants failed to follow reasonable policies and procedures to protect the safety of John Doe and his classmates, which should have insured that John Doe and his classmates were not subject to sexual abuse,” the suit says.
“I was shocked and dismayed that so many people in an administrative position knew about the abuse and did little to respond. The lack of communication with caregivers and documentation is especially upsetting,” stated Talya Mazor, a former mental health clinician at Estes Hill Elementary, in an affidavit.
Mazor was hired in 2012 as a mental health clinician at the school and worked with students in two behavioral education classrooms: one with kindergarteners to second-graders and another with students in third to fifth grades.
In 2013, Mazor built trust with one of the students and asked him if he had ever been touched inappropriately. She said he told her that he along with two other first-grade boys were victims of abuse by two other students in the older behavior education class.
A second student confirmed the abuse. The third student was transferred to another school system by the time Mazor started working at the school.
One of the first-grade students said the older students touched their penises and buttocks and forced them to touch each other’s penises.
Mazor said she asked for information about the abuse from school officials, including the human resources department and the student services coordinator.
“They told me they knew about the incidents and that I did not need to investigate any further because it has been resolved before my time,” she said.
Mazor shared the information with the guardians of two of the boys about the abuse and they were “surprised and upset”
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
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