Wake schools sued over allegations 6-year-old was sexually assaulted by classmate
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- Lawsuit alleges Wake County schools failed to protect a 6-year-old.
- Complaint says abuse occurred during 2023-24 school year despite staff notice.
- Plaintiff seeks damages for severe emotional injuries and ongoing trauma.
A lawsuit accuses the Wake County school system of failing to protect a 6-year-old and other students from being sexually assaulted by a classmate.
A lawsuit filed Nov. 3 in Wake County Superior Court says a 6-year-old student at Wake Forest Elementary School was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a classmate over the course of a school year. The lawsuit accuses the school system of failing to protect the student and his classmates, even though a teacher and the principal were notified about the alleged abuse.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Board’s above-described negligence, Plaintiff John Doe has suffered and continues to suffer severe mental and emotional injuries, including but not limited to severe anxiety, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other damages,” according to the lawsuit.
A Wake County schools spokesperson told The News & Observer on Monday that the district does not comment on pending litigation.
Sexual assaults allegedly occurred in school bathroom
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was 6 and attending Wake Forest Elementary during the 2023-24 school year.
“During the 2023-2024 school year, Plaintiff was sexually assaulted multiple times by another minor student at Wake Forest Magnet Elementary School,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint says – among other sexual acts — the other student touched and fondled the plaintiff in a school bathroom. Both students were in kindergarten at the time, according to Lisa Lanier, an attorney representing the family that filed the lawsuit.
Lanier said they have reason to believe other children at the school were hurt by the student who assaulted their client.
“Upon information and belief, the same student who sexually assaulted Plaintiff on numerous occasions also sexually assaulted other minor students of Wake Forest Magnet Elementary School,” the lawsuit says.
The incident was reported and investigated by police, according to Bill Crabtree, a Town of Wake Forest spokesperson. Crabtree said the matter was referred to Child Protective Services and school administration.
State records show no sexual assaults or sex offenses were reported at Wake Forest Elementary by the school system during the 2023-24 school year.
School accused of failing to stop alleged abuse
The complaint says the plaintiff told his teacher he was being sexually assaulted by a classmate. The lawsuit says the teacher instructed the other student to stop but took no further action.
“Based on the teacher’s continuing inaction, Plaintiff suffered continuing sexual assaults,” the lawsuit says.
On April 19, 2024, the lawsuit says the plaintiff told his mother he was being sexually assaulted by a classmate. The complaint says the plaintiff’s mother then told the principal about the assaults.
“The principal denied the allegations, refused to remove the perpetrating student from Plaintiff’s class, and refused to allow Plaintiff to move to a different class,” according to the complaint.
Lanier said the plaintiff’s parents pulled him out of Wake Forest Elementary due to the school’s inaction.
“He had to be removed because the parents didn’t feel safe,” Lanier said in an interview Wednesday with The N&O.
Families file sex abuse lawsuits against schools
The lawsuit asks for damages in excess of $25,000 from Wake County.
It’s among a number of lawsuit filed in North Carolina and nationally accusing schools and universities of failing to address allegations of sexual assault of students. Sometimes the alleged abusers have been other students and sometimes they’ve been school employees.
Other lawsuits include:
- Three families filed a lawsuit accusing staff members at the Waldorf School of gross negligence in their handling of alleged sexual harassment and assault involving a kindergarten student whose parent works at the Chapel Hill private school.
- At least three different lawsuits were filed by former Myers Park High School students accusing the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System of not properly investigating sexual harassment and assault allegations.
This story was originally published November 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
