In a disturbing piece of sexual harassment news, New York sexual harassment attorneys have learned of a case involving the groping of a child. Parents of a kindergarten student are accusing the Shikellamy School District in Harrisburg, PA and it’s principal of failure to protect their child against the groping of a fellow student.
The parents filed a federal lawsuit that was filed last week and are alleging that a male student dropped his pants, exposed himself to their daughter, forced a kiss and grabbed her buttocks – all in a kindergarten classroom. The complaint alleges that the school district deliberately disregarded the incident and made no effort to protect their daughter or to reprimand the alleged perpetrator. The alleged incidents took place on three occasions between the months of December and April of last year. They are claiming that their daughter missed school, was forced to switch classrooms and has suffered incredible humiliation as a result of the incident. They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with attorney fees.
The parents are claiming that they were in regular contact with the classroom teacher, the principal and the superintendent of the school. Their daughter was punished after the kiss and the promise of keeping the two children separated were ignored despite continued interest in their daughter from the male student in question. In fact, the two children allegedly continued to be sat next to each other during class periods. They claim their daughter was afraid to approach the teacher. The school guidance counselor claims to have had no knowledge of the alleged incidents. As a result of the incident, the parents withdrew their daughter from school for over a week to protect her from further unwanted advances.
Our sexual harassment lawyers in NYC urge parents to act in accordance with what they believe to be in the best interest of their children and to seek legal advice at the first sign of distress.
The Derek Smith Law Group, PLLC handles a multitude of cases that involve sexual harassment in Manhattan and the greater New York City area. For further information, please feel free to call us at 212-587-0760 or email at dtslaws@msn.com
