The parents of a first-grade girl have filed a lawsuit against Hoover City Schools in Alabama, alleging they didn’t do anything to stop their daughter from being sexually assaulted by her classmates.
According to the lawsuit, a group of first-grade girls, referred to as the “Harassing Girls,” sexually assaulted the then 6-year-old girl, identified as Jane Doe, during the 2017-18 school year at Trace Crossings Elementary School.
The suit claims the Harassing Girls assaulted the girl by “holding her while they pulled her pants and underwear down” and groped her. Additionally, according to the lawsuit, the perpetrators “took her into the girls’ restroom and insisted that she wear a toddler diaper…instead of underwear.”
The lawsuit alleges that the abuse continued to go on after school officials knew about a similar assault on another classmate.
After several assaults had taken place, one of the perpetrators, referred to as Jane Smith, told the other girls to stop. The girls then allegedly assaulted Jane Smith. She told her parents about what happened, and her parents told the school about the assaults.
The lawsuit claims that after the principal learned about the assaults, he made the Harassing Girls run laps as punishment. Jane Smith’s parents withdrew her from the school in January 2018.
According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe showed signs that something was wrong in February 2018. Her parents, Mary and Martha Doe, sent an email to the principal expressing their concerns. The next day, they found out about the assault against their daughter.
The suit argues that school officials didn’t protect the girl after finding out about the assaults and didn’t take proper action against the Harassing Girls.
The lawsuit says that a classmate cut Jane Doe’s hair in March 2018, and in April, she was pushed on the playground. In May 2018, Jane Doe was bitten on the face and lip by a classmate.
Jane Doe’s parents withdrew her from the school in June 2018 and she is now being homeschooled.
The suit claims the girl still suffers “physical injury, severe emotional distress, anguish, embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, frustration, stress, trauma and concern.”
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