A Philadelphia fourth grader and his mother seek the right to sue the boy’s school district after his alleged sexual assault by peers.

Two Pennsylvania courts have already ruled that the boy and his mother cannot sue the School District of Philadelphia over the assault that allegedly happened in 2011 at Bryant Elementary School in West Philadelphia, because the mother did not file her lawsuit within six months of when the alleged assault occurred.

However, the mother is requesting that the state Supreme Court hear the sexual abuse lawsuit, arguing that lower courts misinterpreted the Human Relations Act.

The mother filed her assault lawsuit under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the lower courts determined that the other could not file a lawsuit against the school district on the basis that they stated that there was a six-month time limit on filing a lawsuit over the sexual assault of minors.

This case centers on how much, if any, liability a school should incur when a child is bullied. The Inquirer Daily News reported on another case whose decision asserted that a school district should be held accountable for peer-on-peer bullying in Pennsylvania. 

According to the Philadelphia sex abuse case, the court should expand the time-limits for filing complaints. The child’s mother argues that an expansion of the time frame if children are victimized based on “protected characteristics” as this child allegedly was.

The boy’s attorney told metro.us that “[s]chool bullying damages our children in ways that can’t easily be undone. In enacting the PHRA, the state legislature intended to protect children from discriminatory bullying — our appeal will give the Pennsylvania Supreme Court the opportunity to reaffirm that principle.”

Firing back, attorneys for the school district argued that they “do not dispute that bullying and harassment are serious matters. Yet, as this Court repeatedly has noted, Pennsylvania courts may not alter terms of statutes to advance policy goals, no matter how worthy; rather, it is the legislature’s role to establish policy.”

The fourth grader was reportedly called racist and homophobic slurs by his peers “because he did not conform to gender stereotypes,” forced to watch pornography, and was bullied over multiple incidents. Allegedly, the three bullies then dragged the boy into a bathroom and sexually assaulted him. The boy and his mother claim that the bullies threatened the boy’s life if he spoke about the incident.

According to the mother, her son did not tell her of the incident until weeks afterward, at which point she quickly contacted the police. Juvenile charges were filed against the boys, and they were arrested.

The mother argued that Bryant Elementary staff did not take “corrective measures” to stop the boy’s bullying. Allegedly, staff members said that bullying was a pervasive problem at the school during the year that the boy was assaulted.

The Pennsylvania fourth grade sexual assault lawsuit has gained support from child advocacy and education-focused groups. The Education Law Center has expressed support for the Philadelphia sexual assault lawsuit, saying that Pennsylvania’s current time limits on filing a lawsuit leave “marginalized children without access to the protections of PHRA when their school fails to keep them safe.”

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape notes that of any group of children, teens are at the highest risk for experiencing sexual assault. However, sexual assault can occur earlier, as is shown in the Philadelphia boy’s case.  

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