Education

Virginia School District Classifies Alleged Sexual Assault As ‘Sexual Encounter’ In Lawsuit Response

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Rob Shimshock Education Reporter
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A Virginia school district identified an alleged sexual assault as a “sexual encounter” in response to a lawsuit, a Wednesday investigation revealed.

A Fairfax County School Board attorney replied to a sexual assault lawsuit filed by a 17-year-old Oakton High School graduate by saying the incident in question “was not a sexual assault,” The Washington Post reported. The complainant, identified as Jane Doe, alleges the district improperly handled the case and turned the school into a hostile learning atmosphere for her.

“The School Board denies that Ms. [Jane] Doe reported a sexual assault … and denies that she was damaged by FCPS’s response to the sexual encounter that she described to school officials,” the district asserted.

The student claims that a male student sat beside her on a bus, said he was cold, and covered the two of them with a blanket during a March 2017 band trip. He then allegedly touched the girl’s leg, touched her breasts, digitally penetrated her, and grabbed her hand and forced her to fondle his genitals, blocking her attempts to disengage.

Doe’s lawsuit against the district claims that the student informed four friends about her purported assault, two of whom relayed the information to Oakton faculty members. A third student contacted a parent, who confided in Oakton’s band director.

The Fairfax County School Board confirmed that Doe “rubbed” the male student’s genitals and that the male student put his hands down the girl’s pants and up her shirt, but stated that she was not forced to touch the male student and did not try to pull away. The board also asserted that Doe was not “shocked, scared, and humiliated,” as the student claimed.

“I moved my hand away but he moved my hand back onto his genitals. I was so shocked and scared that I did not know what to say or do,” Doe’s March 13, 2017 statement to Oakton said. “He then started to move his hands towards me and I tried to block him but he still put his hands up my shirt and down my pants.”

“Any reasonable person … would recognize that she was describing nonconsensual activity,” the student’s attorney, Adele Kimmel, said.

Fairfax County made headlines in June for passing changes to its sex education curriculum including the teaching of an HIV drug with “life-threatening side effects,” and the replacement of “biological sex” with “sex assigned at birth.” (RELATED: Virginia School Board Thrusts Through Sex Ed Changes Despite 90% Public Disapproval [VIDEO])

“The rogue Fairfax County School Board once again cast a rigged vote which ignored a stunning level of parent and the community input,” school board member Elizabeth Schultz told The Daily Caller News Foundation regarding the 10-0 vote from which she abstained.

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