Student sexually assaulted after being used as ‘bait’

WORLD

NEW YORK — An American teenager with special needs was raped after being used as “bait” by her teachers to entrap a schoolboy sex predator.

The U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Education and the family of the 14-year-old victim are all now suing Madison County School Board in Alabama over the incident, which her lawyer said had had a “devastating” effect on her life.

She was assaulted at Sparkman Middle School in January 2010 after complaining to her teachers that a 16-year-old fellow student had repeatedly asked her for sex. Ronnie Blairis, the principal, is understood to have said that no action could be taken unless the boy was “caught in the act” and the school’s policy required there to be proof in cases where students alleged misconduct against each other.

The girl was allegedly persuaded by June Simpson, a teaching aide, to tell the boy to meet her for sex in a school lavatory, where teachers would be waiting to protect her.

She is believed to have been reluctant to go along with the plan, which the school’s vice-principal Jeanne Dunaway was allegedly informed of and did not seek to prevent, but eventually agreed and made contact with the boy.

However, he arranged to meet her elsewhere in the school building and raped her before the teachers could come to her aid. A medical examination found injuries consistent with her being assaulted.

According to legal documents filed as part of the case, the boy had been involved in at least 15 suspected incidents involving violence or unwanted sexual attention and had been recommended for constant surveillance after allegedly having sex with a girl in a school lavatory.

The court papers say: “School administrators knew the student’s extensive history of sexual and violent misconduct and were alerted to the substantial risk he posed.”

Eric Artrip, the girl’s lawyer, told CNN “something went wrong” after the boy arranged to meet the girl in a lavatory in a different part of the school.

“She stalled for time,” he said. “She continually tried to fight him off but ultimately was ... raped by this young man. It was evident that this had been a severe trauma for her. It has essen- tially devastated her life.”

The boy was not prosecuted despite the medical evidence because prosecutors said they did not have a good enough case and the girl was unwilling to discuss the matter. Her mother died soon afterwards and she went to live in care in another state.

According to the brief, Dunaway testified that the girl was responsible for herself once she entered the bathroom.