A school district in Texas claimed that an alleged sexual assault of a 6-year-old student that was recorded on a school approved device, was “mutual” in a Wednesday statement regarding the incident.
Officials with Plainview Independent School District (PISD) have asserted that law enforcement investigating an alleged sexual assault of a 6-year-old student at South Elementary School have determined that sexual assault did not occur. Instead, authorities have reportedly claimed the April 19 incident was a “mutual inappropriate sexual contact” that occurred between the students, KCBD reported.
The family of the 6-year-old student in question were reportedly alerted to the situation after noticing a change in the young girl’s behavior. After questioning the child, the family discovered that a student had allegedly exposed himself to the 6-year-old while in the lunch line. Additionally, the girl claimed to have been forced under a desk to perform a sex act that was recorded by another student on a school-issued iPad, another report from KCBD revealed. (RELATED: REPORT: Three Minors Accused Of Gang-Raping 12-Year-Old Boy)
NEW STATEMENT: Plainview ISD released a new statement on Wednesday, providing a detailed account of its actions in response to accusations of a sexual assault of a 6-year-old student at South Elementary on Apr. 19. https://t.co/GsvlyV5aag
— KCBD NewsChannel11 (@KCBD11) May 11, 2023
The reported incident drew anger and frustration from parents in the community, even as the school district informed them that local law enforcement as well as the FBI were investigating the matter. Classes were cancelled as threats were reportedly directed at the school district, whose officials were accused by parents of mishandling the matter, Lubbock Online reported.
The school rejected the accusation of mishandling the incident in their statement, maintaining that once video of the incident was identified, law enforcement and Child Protective Services (CPS) were called immediately, KCBD reported. School officials made efforts to contact the parents of the children involved the evening the video was found, though one was not successfully contacted until the following day, the outlet stated.
Of the incident itself, PISD stated it was “brief” lasting approximately “34 seconds” and appeared to be mutual as there was no struggle or call for help from the 6-year-old girl, the outlet stated.
“We cannot speak to the conclusion of the Hale County District Attorney or FBI. The law in the State of Texas does not provide for criminal penalties for children under the age of 10, and public schools are prohibited from expelling or suspending children in 3rd grade or below,” the school district’s statement read, according to KCBD News.
“All 6-year-old children involved in the incident are victims and being treated as such due to the occurrence of behaviors that are not typical of 6-year-old students,” the statement continued.