EspañolParents Outraged After Alleged Sexual Assault of Autistic Boy By Another Student at Budlong Avenue Elementary School In Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (September 30, 2023) – A 5-year-old autistic boy was allegedly sexually assaulted by another student at the Budlong Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles.
Parents gathered in the school auditorium on Friday to express outrage over what happened. The mother of the victim said that her son was sexually assaulted by another student in a bathroom of the school.
The assailant has only been described as another male student. Los Angeles Police Department officials are currently investigating the incident.
The boy’s mother said that she knew something was wrong when she picked up her child from school and his pants were on inside out. His mother said that her son told her that another boy took off his pants and touched his private area.
She says that her son has been traumatized by what happened.
Liability For Sexual Assaults Involving Other Students
Sexual abuse in the K-12 years of a child’s education is unfortunately very common. According to neaToday, “there were 14,938 incidents of sexual violence in K–12 schools in 2017 – 2018 compared with 9,649 in 2015 – 2016, representing a 55 percent increase. These include incidents of rape or attempted rape and sexual assault.” The perpetrators in many of these instances are other students. In fact, it has been estimated that students are nearly 7 times more likely to be sexually assaulted by other students than adults. Schools should take a number of measures to prevent student sexual abuse.
- Schools should create and enforce a clear and comprehensive sexual harassment policy.
- Schools should establish confidential and easy-to-access reporting mechanisms.
- Students should be adequately supervised at all points of the day. Special needs students will typically need greater amounts of supervision.
- Schools should work with law enforcement to report sexual abuse.
Schools have a legal responsibility to take all reasonable actions in order to protect the students in their care. Consider, for example, Taylor v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 17 Cal. 2d 594 [110 P.2d 1044], “It is the duty of the school authorities to supervise at all times the conduct of the children on the school grounds and to enforce those rules and regulations necessary to their protection.” A school could even be liable for the sexual assault of a student by a third-party not affiliated with the school.
In Leger v. Stockton Unified School Dist. (1988) 202 Cal. App. 3d 1448, a California Court of Appeal considered a case where a student was assaulted by a non-student in a school restroom. School officials were aware of previous attacks in the restrooms and failed to take action to protect students. A Court of Appeal ended up siding with the injured student in that case. There are many steps that should be taken after any instance of sexual abuse at a school.
- A police report detailing the assault should be made.
- Eye witnesses should be interviewed.
- Surveillance footage should be sought.
- The history of sexual assaults at the school should be understood.
- It should be determined if the school had any policies in place to prevent sexual assaults.
Sexual abuse can be one of the most difficult things that most people will ever go through. It can be particularly traumatic for children. It can be hard to know where to begin for any parent whose child is abused at school, but it is important for that parent to understand that they do have rights. The parents of any child abused at school can seek some measure of justice through a civil claim.
Investigating Sexual Abuse At Budlong Avenue Elementary School
We at the Carrillo Law Firm, LLP extend our best wishes to the family of the child harmed in this instance at Budlong Avenue Elementary School. It is our sincere hope that there is a thorough investigation into what happened. It is the schools responsibility to protect the students in their care. School officials need to be held to account when they fail to protect students.
Have you or someone that you care about been the victim of sexual abuse at school? There are a number of laws designed to protect your rights. Our team of sexual abuse attorneys are here to help in any way that we can. We care deeply that abuse victims are aware of their rights and that schools are held accountable. Our law firm has a long track record of securing record breaking settlements for those we represent. Whether you just have legal questions or are thinking about hiring an attorney we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at 626-799-9375.
