Missouri school district protects children from critically acclaimed books, but not from rape.
Posted: August 16, 2011 Filed under: Surreality, Violence against women, Women's Rights | Tags: lawsuit, Missouri, rape, Republic School District, sexual assault, sexual harrassment, Springfield, Vern Minor 29 Comments
Vern Minor, Superintendent, Republic School District
This is one of the most outrageous stories I have ever come across. Via Jezabel, the family of a girl in Springfield, Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the Republic School District, claiming the girl was harrassed, sexually assaulted, and raped by a male student on school property.
The suit, filed July 5, alleges when the girl — a special education student — told officials about the harassment, assault and rape that occurred during the 2008-09 school year, they told her they did not believe her. She recanted.
The suit also alleges that, without seeking her mother’s permission, school officials forced the girl to write a letter of apology to the boy and personally deliver it to him. She was then expelled for the rest of the 2008-2009 school year and referred to juvenile authorities for filing a false report.
The suit notes that school officials did not report the girl’s accusation to law enforcement officials, as they are mandated by law to do. Not only that, they apparently didn’t even read the girl’s psychological evaluation–in the school’s files–which described her as “conflict adverse, behaviorally passive” and likely to “forego her own needs and wishes to satisfy the request of others around so she can be accepted.”
In 2010, the girl was “allowed” to return to school, and the harrassment and assaults continued.
In February 2010, the boy allegedly forcibly raped the girl again, this time in the back of the school library. While school officials allegedly expressed skepticism of the girl, her mother took her to the Child Advocacy Center and an exam showed a sexual assault had occurred. DNA in semen found on the girl matched the DNA of the boy she accused, the suit says.
The boy was taken into custody in Juvenile Court and pleaded guilty to charges, the suit says. The specific charges are not stated in the suit.
So there is no question whatsoever that the second rape took place–in the school library! But the school district’s response to the suit claims that the girl’s accusations are “frivolous and have no basis in fact or law.” They further claim that the girl “failed to…protect herself,” and so whatever happened to her was her own fault.
Ironically, this is the same school district that recently banned Kurt Vonnegut’s brilliant novel Slaughterhouse Five and Sara Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer from their school curricula and libraries. The books were banned by school board members all of whom except one had never read either book, but had been shocked by newspaper column by a Missouri State professor.
Wesley Scroggins, a business professor at Missouri State University, who also pioneered a movement to reshape middle school sex-education classes in Republic’s schools, wrote in a column last year that Vonnegut’s classic contained enough profanity to “make a sailor blush,” and warned that “Twenty Boy Summer” was similarly dangerous.
“In this book,” Scroggins wrote, “drunken teens also end up on the beach, where they use their condoms to have sex.”
Apparently books about consensual sex are wrong, but rapes that take place in the school library are just fine. And if a girl reports being raped, she’ll have to apologize to the boy who did it for speaking up.
This case is very reminiscent of the case of the cheerleader in Texas who was forced to pay damages because she refused to cheer for her rapist, a basketball player. It also reminds me of the case in Muncie, Indiana, in which a girl was raped on school property, and when she reported it, school administrators interrogated the girl and held her for hours in the principal’s office, refusing to report the crime to police.
What is it with school officials who refuse to protect girls from sexual harrassment and rape? The mother of the girl in Muncie is also suing the school system as well as the 16-year-old rapist’s family.
I hope both of these families are successful and that having the pay the settlements will force these school districts to get serious about sexual assault.
Meanwhile, Republic school superintendent Vern Minor should be fired immediately.
peej
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Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
I can’t believe that a school district doesn’t think its their responsibility to protect a 11-12 year old special needs student on their property. Where was any form of supervision in the library let alone an actual response to the original complaints? This principle and school superintendent should have their OWN money on the line in these suits. Unbelievable!
I couldn’t find any other articles about the case, unfortunately. These small town stories disappear from google pretty quickly.
But that cheerleader in TX had to pay $45,000 and the Supreme Court wouldn’t even hear her case, remember? It seems to be open season on women and girls these days.
BB, this is so unreal, damn………First his phone number for the Republic District is 417-732-3605, feel free to call and request that he, and the school counselor, and who ever else was involved in covering up this crime, be released from duty without pay immediately.
I am so pissed off, they failed to protect this girl. She was raped not once, but twice, and they couldn’t even follow the law, and report the crime. I see one huge liablity……….
It does remind me of the cheerleader in Texas who was forced to pay and cheer for the rapist.
Who would have thought it would happen again, on the other hand, what the hell was I thinking?
Sometime back we talked about girls and women with disabilities being targets for sexual abuse and rape ten fold.
This case has been mishandled, time for a big investigation into the district, time for a petition to get them out of office.
Fannie,
I’m not sure why this girl was in special ed, but it sounds like she was probably mentally challenged in some way. Girls with such problems are often targeted, and school officials should protect them. But really what they should have done was report the alleged assaults to police and let them handle it. It’s the same thing that happened in my hometown, Muncie, IN. School officials are afraid of getting in trouble and end up making a lot more trouble for themselves by trying to cover up these crimes.
The school officials who knew about the rape and failed to report it are mandated reproters and should be criminally charged. Put their asses in jail and they might find out what it’s like to be a victim.
I am with Jean on this, the lack of notification to authorities and the utter disregard of this student’s safety is criminal.
BB, I could not read this post last night…but upon reading it now it really gets me so disgusted, and angry.
And you know that this kind of thing happens a lot more than what we hear about or read in the papers. It is appalling.
I don’t know if any of you have been following the Spare the rod, spoil the child murder in CA on AC360, but it’s equally disturbing.
Gary Tuchman reports on an author who says you must spank your child and a couple who killed their daughter doing it.
Surreal. The school officials should be prosecuted as accessories to the rapes and sentenced accordingly.
Absolutely!
I would call these these school officials scum but that would be an insult to scum
Add to this the girls who are bullied until they kill themselves. Bullying in schools has become epidemic — and I blame the schools.
Kids are really nasty to each other — and very often any student with any sort of learning disability OR who is very intelligent will be bullied. Teachers and school officials know about the bullying and they cover it up.
Frankly I don’t know why Texas is still part of the US — toss Texas out and them them fend for themselves.
I can’t get past this story — who is there for the girls — the children?
The school authorities are most obviously protecting the boys — and who knows how many rapes are being covered up. Where the f&^& was the school counselor? At one time the school counselors were supposed to be there for the students — but those counselors were let go as being too liberal — too soft.
So the SECOND time the girl was raped and there is absolutely no question — there is physical proof — she is still being called a liar. Let me tell you all — there are things that should be done to those in charge at that school. They should be sued for every single penny they have and that they will ever have. In this case I believe that they should be tortured — something appropriate — very appropriate.
Who is this piece of garbage boy that the school “administrators” are protecting? Who are his parents? I hope that every single pit bull attorney shows up to take down this school district.
Where was the adult supervision in the library?
These creeps need to be gone after by a large and powerful group.
In answer to your question about counselors: I live near Republic. I have a friend who was a (good) counselor in another small town. Unfortunately, budget cuts in Missouri have resulted counselors being laid off.
That’s such a shame. And of course it’s happening all over. I wish we could bail out some of these people instead of banksters.
Not only counselors, but school nurses as well. Some districts have one nurse who travels around to the schools.
I am curious K…what is the public attitude towards the Republic School district. Are people expressing any outrage that this girl’s rape was treated with such utter disregard for her well-being?
Here is the link to email and number of Vern Minor, Superintendent:
Republic R-III School District – Vern Minor
There is a Facebook fan page “Vote out the Republic Missouri School Board”
Thanks Todd, I will see if I can find the link…
And welcome to Sky Dancing…
Here is the link: Vote out the Republic Missouri School Board
By the way…this child. This 7th/8th grade child that was raped–was a special education student. Easily susceptible to these situations.
Yes. Just imagine what it was like for her being interrogated by school officials and called a liar.
My heart breaks for this poor little girl. My niece is almost that age. My son is nearing that age. My son is a special needs student. I cannot believe that a SCHOOL of all places would do this to that poor little girl. If only there was a way to take the hurt away for her. This is something that she will have to live with for the rest of her life.
That boy will probably shrug it off and go on to rape again. It is disgusting the way that our rape culture makes it ok and makes it alright for the school to blame the victim. They said she failed to defend herself. That is horrifying beyond belief. I weep for the world we live in.
Lucky Star
author, http://www.victimnomore.wordpress.com
It is horrifying and heartbreaking. Thanks so much for your heartfelt comment.
This is disgusting. Sadly, it’s also nothing new, nor is it only the girls who are targets. And amazingly, the school’s response is identical to what it was 40 years ago. Blame the victim, hush it all up, then get back to business as usual.
“Oh no, not *our* fine school! Why, just look at our winning football team” or whatever. I’ve often wondered what’s wrong with the minds of some school administrators. There has to be something missing, some basic lack.
Thanks for helping to publicize this. Maybe, just maybe, it’ll make a difference.
Oh, we hope that by getting the word out, it makes a difference too…
Thank you for commenting Stephen.
The school board should be prosecuted for aiding and abetting the rape. And accessory after the fact.
Yes, the school board and the school administrators should be charged with child neglect and child endangerment. I posted this update on Boston Boomer’s morning post, but I will repost it here:
It looks like the Missouri rape case is getting some traction in the media.
Lawsuit alleges Missouri school expelled girl for making rape claim – CNN.com
Display of affection, WTF? These school administrators need to be arrested for child abuse and child neglect.
And check it out:
Courthouse News Service
This article is from July 22nd. I find it interesting that Missouri has this law that will go into affect at the end of the month, but the Asst. Prosecuting Attorney in Greene County, where the Republic school district is, does not think these administrators broke the law. See that quote from Springfield News below.
And here are a couple local news outlets reporting on the case:
Republic School District Responds to Federal Lawsuit – kspr.com
Lawsuit raises hotline question | Springfield News-Leader | News-Leader.com
Here is a link to the public statement issued by the Republic school district.
Click to access DO178271817.PDF
Read that public statement, especially the last bit…these people need to be fired.
Disgusting, school officials should lose their jobs,and should face charges, and further more they should never be allowed to work around children again.