BOSTON — Victim advocates say Massachusetts schools are failing to protect students sexually assaulted on their watch. 25 investigates found the number of students punished for sexual assault is only a fraction of overall disciplinary actions.
Investigative Reporter Kerry Kavanaugh found in some cases, the victim continued seeing their abuser every day.
Victim advocates say when children are sexually abused at school by another student, the rights of the perpetrator often outweigh those of the victim. They said that leads to children getting victimized over and over again.
“In every single school there is a lot of sexual assault happening," said advocate Colby Bruno of the Victims Rights Law Center.
Bruno says the perpetrator and victim of school sex assaults are often both students, and because of that, the child who is victimized continues to suffer unintended consequences.
Local Mother Pushes to Protect Others
In May, 25 Investigates spoke a local mother who has dealt with this issue.
Her 7-year-old son, was sexually assaulted multiple times, by a 6-year-old student on the school bus.
"I just want other kids to feel safe going to school. I don't want what happened to my son to happen to anybody else's kid," she told Boston 25 Investigates.
That child was too young to face criminal charges. The Boston Renaissance School told the mother state law limited the extent to which they could discipline the child.
"The school said they weren't able to take the child out of the school which is initially what I wanted,” the mother told us in May.
>>PREVIOUS: 6 months after alleged sexual assault, child victim still has to face abuser
Despite the school’s assurances, she said her son was seeing his perpetrator at dismissal, reigniting his trauma.
To protect her son, he's attending a new school in a new district this fall.
25 Investigates brought this example to state representative Shaunna O'Connell.
“A victim shouldn’t have to leave their school because they're forced to see their perpetrator every day at school," she said. “We need to protect the rights of the victim and ensure that they’re not traumatized and revictimized over and over again."
A Fraction of Disciplinary Actions
State data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shows sexual assaults rarely lead to serious consequences in Massachusetts schools.
During the 2015-16 school year 41,744 elementary and secondary students were penalized for a variety of offenses.
- 5,251 students were disciplined for physical fights.
- 6,364 were discipline for non-sexual physical attacks.
Compare that to 92 students, less than a quarter of 1 percent, who were disciplined for sexual assault or rape.
25 Investigates asked the state for the total number of sexual assaults reported, but were told those numbers are not tracked, unless someone is disciplined.
When asked about the discrepancy in those figures, advocate Colby Bruno said, “It’s underreporting, it's under enforcement, it's under prosecution."
Massachusetts schools including Boston Renaissance have deferred to a state law in these cases called Felony complaint or conviction of student; suspension; expulsion; right to appeal.
It generally says students have to be either charged with or convicted of a felony to face suspension.
"The bar should never be so high that a child who is sexually abused has to be in the same school as the abuser," said Rep. O’Connell. “We need to draw the line somewhere."
Advocate Colby Bruno believes schools need to do more to help the young and vulnerable.
“There is a very clear legal term, which is hostile environment. And, that is what exists at these schools that keep the perpetrator and the victim together," said Bruno.
How to Help Your Children
25 Investigates asked an educational advocate how parents should approach their school or district if they believe their child was hurt. You can see advocate Stephanie Bialecki’s advice in this interview.
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