INDIANAPOLIS — The parents of a student with special needs who was allegedly sexually assaulted and raped at Hamilton Southeastern Schools filed a lawsuit on Tuesday.
The family's attorneys said the unnamed 13-year-old student, referred to as "James" throughout the lawsuit, has autism, a language impairment and an intellectual disability.
Due to the significance of his disabilities, James was placed in a fully self-contained special education classroom at Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate and Junior High School. Attorneys said his parents were told he would receive a "high level of supervision, care and support."
In February 2024, it was revealed that James had been sexually assaulted and raped multiple times in his school bathroom by another student from August 2023 through January 2024.
WARNING: This story contains graphic content that might be difficult for some to read.
On Jan. 31, 2024, the lawsuit claims James' parents received a voicemail from the school counselor saying there had been an "incident" at the school but didn't say that it was urgent or involved James' safety. The parents called the school five times on Feb. 1 and 2.
On Feb. 2, 2024, the lawsuit says the school counselor sent James' parents an email saying that his teacher "got word of some concerning behavior from another student toward [James] and brought [James] over to [the school counselor] earlier this week. [James] shared with [the school counselor] that there is a student that has been asking him to meet him in the bathroom and is requesting inappropriate actions from [James]. [James] shared that this happened three times last semester, and it has not happened since then. [James] said that whenever the other student asks him to meet in the bathroom, [James] just avoids and runs from the situation.”
After sending the email, the lawsuit claims the school counselor called James' parents and told them James had confided in another special education student in his classroom and told them that he needed help.
James told that student that he had been in the bathroom and a student in another class had allegedly shown him his penis and asked him to suck it. The special education student reported the incident to the teacher.
Later in the day on Feb. 2, 2024, the lawsuit claims James' parents tried to ask him what happened at school but he became "very anxious and upset, went silent, and did not provide any additional information."
Four days later, the lawsuit says James' parents were leaving the school after meeting about a school field trip when James pointed to the school bathroom and told his dad that's where he was raped and forced to have sex by another student not in his special education class.
The student allegedly threatened James not to tell anyone about what happened in the bathroom.
The lawsuit says that on at least 11 occasions, from Aug. 28, 2023 to Jan. 25, 2024, messages were sent to James on his iPad demanding that he come to a bathroom in the school. These messages were labeled “Allowed Student Communications,” and given James’ special needs, were supposed to be monitored by the school. They were sent through the school’s applications and via the school’s emails.
"What's being alleged is that this child, who has special needs, was left without supervision. He was sexually assaulted. He was raped in school bathrooms, and that is the heart of what occurred in this case," said Catherine Michael, one of the attorneys representing the family.
"I mean, imagine if you're a parent and you start to find this out, and the parents didn't learn of a lot of the details until the child was interviewed through a forensic interview. I mean, imagine having to take your child to the doctor to determine if your child had an STD because of what happened on school property," said Tammy Meyer, who is also representing the family. "This was solicited over school, supposedly monitored, emails and school sponsored emails. You know, if you were to put some of these phrases in your work email or mine, and someone is to be monitoring it, someone should have been alerted with these terms being used by the perpetrator."
Court documents claim the parents went to the school the next day to see the principal and the principal refused to speak with them. After the parents told the administration that they wouldn't leave the school until they spoke with someone, the lawsuit claims the vice principal "reluctantly" agreed to meet with them.
Documents show between the timeframe of Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, the school filed an "inadequate and incorrect DCS report about the abuse of James, which did not capture the full extent of the ongoing sexual abuse that the child had been subjected to for months at the school."
After leaving the school on Feb. 7, 2024, the lawsuit says the parents went to a police station and reported James’ rape and sexual abuse. The parents also contacted DCS and told the school they had contacted the police.
The lawsuit claims the abuse has caused James to suffer from depression, anxiety and PTSD and that his parents sought medical, psychiatric and psychological help for him.
"Since the abuse, James has frequently made comments about killing himself, and he has asked family members if this means he 'would do this to other people,' or if it was his fault," the lawsuit said.
After all of this, the lawsuit claims the parents discovered that the perpetrator was still in school and the school had taken "no steps" to remove that student from the school.
"No parent should ever have to find out that their child was abused at school," Meyer said. "This is a compulsory system; we entrust our children to these institutions every day. The fact that this happened under their watch is inexcusable."
"Schools have a fundamental responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of all children, particularly those who are most vulnerable due to intellectual disabilities, autism, and speech impairments," Michael said.
"The trauma James and his family have endured is immeasurable," Meyer said. "It is imperative that schools take proactive steps to prevent such incidents, ensuring that no other family has to experience this nightmare."
Through their attorneys, James' family is demanding accountability and substantial changes within Hamilton Southeastern Schools and all school systems in Indiana to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. They are also urging the school district to reevaluate its safety protocols. The family is requesting damages, costs of the lawsuit and other relief the court might find reasonable.
The school district sent the following statement to 13News:
"We are aware of the recent lawsuit and take such matters very seriously. While we are currently unable to discuss the specifics of the case due to its sensitive and ongoing nature, we are fully committed to cooperating with the legal process. When these allegations were brought to our attention, we took appropriate action to ensure a safe learning environment. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of every student entrusted to our care."
13News asked Fishers Police Department if it investigated the incident. The department responded to 13News, saying, "This case was investigated by FPD and sent to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office."