There are now two complaints against two West Hartford middle schools saying students were sexually assaulted less than a year apart due to the failing of the schools.
A lawsuit filed Monday alleges a 13-year-old autistic student of King Philip Middle School in West Hartford was bullied, sexually assaulted, and harassed by a fellow student. It claims the district "allowed and/or permitted the actions and incidents described ... to occur on its grounds."
The lawsuit is filed against the West Hartford Board of Education, and the plaintiff is referred to as "Child Doe" and his family, while the classmate and accused is given the alias "John Smith."
After an incident in October of 2013 between the two, the suit says administration promised to separate them but that they were still allowed in the boys locker room unsupervised.
For weeks the lawsuit claims "John Smith" tried to sexually assault "Child Doe" in that locker room and finally did so in November.
The lawsuit says the school reacted to it by "covering up the negligence, failing to provide any explanation or information regarding the rape, and denying any responsibility."
It also mentions a separate lawsuit regarding Sedgwick Middle School in West Hartford to claim a pattern of negligence within the district.
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That lawsuit claims in April 2013, in an unsupervised boys locker room, three students allegedly yelled out "Let's rape [the student]" and they dragged the 8th grader "while he was kicking and screaming, into the unlocked closet" where he was sexually assaulted.
Included in the lawsuit's demands is for all West Hartford schools to have adult supervision in locker rooms and to fire anyone responsible for "Child Doe's" sexual assault.
We reached out to West Hartford's Board of Education and superintendent for comment but did not hear back by news time.
West Hartford police were unable to verify the accusations in the lawsuit regarding "Child Doe" Monday night.
