Second-grader with special needs sexually assaulted on school bus, Texas lawsuit says

The mother of a student with special needs says her child was sexually assaulted while riding in a school bus, according to a lawsuit in Texas.

The boy’s mother is suing the school district, accusing it of failing to protect her son.

The boy was a second-grader at Katy Independent School District when an older student forced him to perform oral sex on the bus two times in fall 2018, according to the federal lawsuit. The student continued to sexually harass and ask for sex acts, the lawsuit says.

The child’s mother says she learned of the sexual assault two months after it happened. Another student who overheard the older student coercing the second-grader told administrators, the lawsuit says.

School officials turned the case over to the district’s police department, but didn’t open their own investigation and “washed their hands of it,” according to the lawsuit.

In a statement to KTRK, school officials said that “due to pending litigation, Katy ISD is not able to comment on this matter.”

After the police investigation began, the school didn’t separate the students, and they continued to have recess, lunch and social skills activities together, the lawsuit says. The school district also refused to transfer the student accused of sexual assault, according to the lawsuit.

The student continued to ask the second-grader to “do what they did on the bus,” the lawsuit says.

The mother says the police department and school district continued “tossing” her back and forth when she tried to get documents and information about the investigation, according to the lawsuit. She still hasn’t received the information, the lawsuit says.

Meanwhile, the mother transferred her child to another school in the district, and his behaviors regressed at home and school, the lawsuit says.

“It’s something he’s going to live with forever,” the mother told KTRK. “The school district has a duty to protect our children and they have not done so.”

Katy is western suburb of Houston.

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 3:05 PM with the headline "Second-grader with special needs sexually assaulted on school bus, Texas lawsuit says."