Wake schools sued over allegations 7-year-old was sexually assaulted by classmate
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- Wake County schools face second lawsuit alleging failure to stop repeated sexual assaults.
- Complaint claims school ignored reports of abuse, delayed effective intervention.
- Family seeks over $25,000; district declines comment on pending litigation
The Wake County school system is facing its second lawsuit in recent months accusing it of failing to protect an elementary school student from being repeatedly sexually assaulted by a classmate.
A lawsuit filed this week in Wake County Superior Court says a 7-year-old student was sexually assaulted multiple times at Beaverdam Elementary School in Raleigh by a classmate during spring 2023. The lawsuit accuses the school system of knowing about the alleged abuse but not preventing it from happening.
The lawsuit was filed by the same law firm that sued Wake in November accusing the district of failing to protect a 6-ear-old student at Wake Forest Elementary School from being repeatedly sexually assaulted by a classmate. That case is ongoing.
“As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, acting and/or failing to act by and through its employees, agents, and/or representatives, Plaintiff was physically and sexually assaulted and harassed and suffered physical, mental, and emotional injuries while in the custody, care, and control of Defendant,” according to the new lawsuit filed Jan. 26.
The plaintiff’s family is seeking damages of more than $25,000. Attorneys for the law firm could not be reached for comment.
The Wake County school system said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Sexual assaults alleged in 2nd-grade class
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff and her alleged abuser were second-grade students at Beaverdam Elementary during the 2022-23 school year. During spring 2023, the lawsuit says the plaintiff “was subjected to numerous physical and sexual assaults and batteries by another student.”
The lawsuit says the other student repeatedly fondled the plaintiff, touching her private parts over her clothing.
The lawsuit says the plaintiff told her teacher about the abuse multiple times. But the complaint says the teacher didn’t tell the school administration about it at the time and instead just moved the abuser to another seat in the classroom.
One-day suspension for assault
The abuse continued with the other student assaulting the plaintiff in the hallway in front of other students. The lawsuit says the other students reported the assault, which was confirmed by surveillance footage.
In response, the lawsuit says, the school administration notified the plaintiff’s mother on May 12, 2023, and suspended the other student from school for one day. But the complaint says the school rejected the request from the plaintiff’s mother to move the other student to a different classroom.
“The principal informed Plaintiff’s mother that there were internal rules and/or policies which prohibited the Perpetrating Student from being removed from the classroom,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiff’s mother was also informed that the only way they could be separated was if Plaintiff was moved to another classroom.”
The lawsuit says the plaintiff’s mother filed a police report. Raleigh Police records show it received a complaint on May 15, 2023, alleging a sex offense involving possible fondling had occurred at the school three days earlier.
Action taken after multiple complaints
The day the student returned from suspension, the lawsuit says he sexually assaulted the plaintiff again. This led to another request to move the abuser that the lawsuit says was rejected by the school.
The lawsuit says there’s reason to believe the student was moved from other classrooms in the past due to his behavior.
On May 18, 2023, the plaintiff’s mother met with the school counselor, social worker and what the lawsuit describes as a leader of a local civic and civil rights organization. The counselor and social worker told the plaintiff’s mother they hadn’t known about the abuse.
When the counselor and social worker tried to involve the principal in the meeting, the lawsuit says, the principal refused to engage and said there was nothing more that could be done.
“It was only after Plaintiff’s mother engaged with a local civic and civil rights organization, made multiple police reports, initiated a Title IX investigation, and met with additional school officials that the Perpetrating Student’s classroom was changed on or about May 22, 2023,” the lawsuit says.
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 3:55 PM.
