WENTZVILLE, Mo. – A Jane Doe under the age of 14 is suing the Wentzville School District and several district employees after she says she was repeatedly harassed by another student.
“They didn’t do enough to protect our client, and it continued to happen, as well as some allegations about how they handled it once the issue was pushed and then came to light,” her attorney, Grant Boyd, said.
The lawsuit details “ongoing acts of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse” by another student. It claims that the defendants “failed to take prompt and effective remedial actions.”
Authorities did arrest the student, who was also charged.
Wentzville schools sent FOX 2 News the following statement:
“The Wentzville R-IV School District has not been served a copy of the lawsuit and cannot comment on specific allegations related to pending litigation. However, we want to emphasize that the safety and well-being of our students are our top priorities. The district has comprehensive policies and regulations designed to prevent and address sexual harassment and violence in schools. District employees receive ongoing training on these policies, and we remain committed to creating a safe and respectful environment for all students.”
Megan Marietta, the director of programming at the Children’s Advocacy Center, says they get clients almost every week who have been victims of sexual violence at school.
“It doesn’t mean that in every school, there is somebody wanting to hurt a child or cause harm, but they are environments where there is plenty of opportunity for that to happen,” she said.
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education does not track sexual assaults or related crimes. According to federal data from 2018, Missouri schools reported 433 total cases of sexual assaults and 60 cases of rape or attempted rape.
The data collected in 2021 showed improvement, but Marietta said data taken during the pandemic might not paint an accurate picture. She recommends that families familiarize themselves with their school districts policies.
“How often is the school revisiting those policies and updating them, but also what are the supports? Are there supports that the family can tap into and reach out to, and if not, then how connected are they to their community?” she said.
Boyd says having policies in place only goes so far.
“It’s not so much the wording of the policies or their existence. It’s the enforcement and the vigilance behind them,” he said.
Wentzville School District has not yet been served a copy of the lawsuit. Once that happens, it will have the opportunity to submit its response in court.
