A Berkeley High School student has brought word of her campus sexual assault case to the lawsuit level, arguing that the staff at the school failed to provide a safe environment.

The victim in this campus sexual assault case filed a lawsuit as a result of how she says administrators handled, or failed to handle, the situation following an attempted rape. The victim’s identity is protected in that lawsuit as she is only referred to as Jane Doe.

When the student spoke up about the attempted rape, she says that school staff told her that the same perpetrator had assaulted between six and ten other girls at the same school. The most recent victim says this is evidence that the school was well aware of the problem and failed to take any corrective action to prevent future assaults.

As explained by the victim, the counselor who was told about the problem was a mandatory reporter but never took the necessary steps to inform Child Protective Services about the incident. In addition, the victim claims that her parents were not told about the assault either, making her feel very uncomfortable in the school environment.

The incident in question happened in May 2019 in a classroom that was typically locked. The victim claims that she was forced into the room by the perpetrator and was groped by him at that time even though she requested that he stop multiple times.

A few days later, she went to a school counselor to share her story. She says that the assistant principal and counselor were aware of the fact that the classroom where it happened was secluded and unsupervised and had become a hot spot for illicit activities among students. The school, however, allegedly never took steps to stop that.

The lawsuit filed in association with this campus sexual assault case asks that the school also create and enforce policies that would protect other students from similar abuse.

What Was the Student Response to the Administration’s Failure?

In February 2020, students at the school staged a walkout in relation to the concerns about the dangerous sexual assault atmosphere. The students claim that the administration didn’t do enough to prevent the issues and continued to put students at risk from known assailants.

In a bathroom stall, students had created a list of “boys to watch out for” and other students beyond the victim in the lawsuit have stepped forward to accuse the school of contributing to a culture of fear.

Even though the school removed the list of names, students went back to add it again. Many students rely on mandatory reporters like teachers or school counselors when disclosing something as personal as an attempted assault or rape. These reporters have clear guidelines they must follow when they receive information about an incident that is designed to protect the victim and call immediate attention to the issue.

The student who filed the lawsuit in this campus sexual assault case says that the person who attacked her was able to continue bothering her even after she reported the concerns to the counselor.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.