The city of New York has paid out $200,000 to a female student who was sexually abused at her public school – in an assault that was videotaped and posted to social media by two of her teenage attackers.
Administrators proceeded to not punish the group of boys, a now-settled civil suit states – adding to the already ‘dangerous environment’ alleged to be present at the school.
The lawsuit named Marlon Bynum, the principal of East New York’s High School of Transit Technology, and Janice Ross, superintendent of the Brooklyn North district, and says administrators were aware of the incident, or other similar events.
The suit also cites a ‘climate of harassment’ that paved the way for the previously unreported assault – which took place on October 21, 2021, as the girl walked to class through an isolated staircase.
The girl, who was either 13 or 14, immediately reported the attack – telling cops one boy ‘pushed her head down’ onto another boy to perform oral sex, while a third recorded and then posted it to platforms including TikTok and Snapchat.
The city of New York has paid out $200,000 to a female student who was sexually abused at Transit Tech High School in East New York (seen here) – in a 2021 assault that was videotaped and posted to social media by her two attackers
The girl’s mother claimed principal Marlon Bynum (pictured) told her the day after the assault, of the attackers: ‘kids are kids’ – before allowing them to continue on as students unpunished
The NYPD arrested two boys, charging one with felony sexual assault and the other with offensive display, a misdemeanor – but the charges were dropped a week later after the local DA’s office declined to prosecute.
The office, presided over by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, does not comment on juvenile cases – and it remains unclear why the cases never made it to court.
A DOE report on the incident – which was first reported by The New York Post – notes that ‘video footage is available’, but the girl’s lawyer, personal injury attorney Kevin Mosley, claim the school erased the surveillance tape before he could obtain a copy.
He and the girl’s parents, who have since transferred their daughter to another school, alleged Saturday the school engaged in a cover-up – one that allowed the two unnamed students to continue on at Transit Tech unpunished.
In fact, speaking to the outlet Saturday – two months after the city agreed to fork over the plum settlement – the girl’s mother claimed the principal told her the day after the assault, of the attackers: ‘kids are kids’.
She also said that about a week after the assault, she received an unsigned email from the DOE stating that after a probe, officials deemed the boys’ ‘behavior’ did not violate laws that prohibit harassment – despite the litany of charges they were hit with.
Alleging a conspiracy, Mosley told The Post that ‘authorities did not take [the child’s claims] seriously’ and that ‘the cover-up is beyond belief’ – with the girl, now 15, set to receive $132,170, after legal fees, when she turns 18.
Still, even with that money, the unnamed girl’s mother said the damage is done – and that ‘no amount of money will compensate [her] daughter for what she had to go through, and is still going through, as a victim of sexual assault.’
Since settled, the suit also named Brooklyn North superintendent Janice Ross (pictured) as a defendant, charging she was aware of similar incidents occurring in her school system
The suit further cites a ‘climate of harassment’ that paved the way for the previously unreported assault on October 21, 2021 – which happened as the girl walked to class through an isolated staircase. A shot of the East New York public school is seen here
The NYPD initially arrested the boys, charging one with felony sexual assault and the other with offensive display, a misdemeanor – but the charges were dropped after DA Erik Gonzalez (seen here) declined to prosecute
In her suit filed in Brooklyn federal court, she claimed Bynum and others at the school ‘were aware that female students were regularly harassed and subjected to abuse and that sexual activity was occurring within the school.’
It also claims school admins fueled the ‘dangerous environment’ at the school of 797 students by [turning] their backs on this vulnerable student, encouraging [her] to leave the school’ while her attackers remained at Transit.
‘School officials simply raised their hands and turned their backs… [and] created a dangerous school environment that condoned sexual abuse and harassment.’
It added that both Bynum and Ross ‘were aware that female students were regularly harassed and subjected to abuse and that sexual activity was occurring within the school… particularly by a group of offenders who have been allowed to engage in similar despicable conduct without effective reprimand or discipline.’
It claimed she suffered physically and emotionally as a result of the incident – which also affected her studies, causing both her attendance and grades to slip that year. It also stated she needed counseling afterward to navigate the trauma.
When contacted about the deal, a city Law Department spokesman said the ‘settlement was in the best interests of the parties.’
State data, meanwhile, shows that two sexual offenses and one assault have occurred at the school during the school year when the assault occurred.
The statistics also show 14 instances of discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, or bullying, and 12 of drug possession or sales.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk