School Sweeps Sexual Assault Allegations Under The Rug

Laclede Co., Mo. -- Laclede County R-I School Board members met Monday night to talk about allegations of extreme bullying on a school bus full of Conway Junior High School boys.  A sixth grader told his parents group of boys forced him to take part in sexual acts on a bus during a field trip in May of last year.

"He got up and said, 'Mom, I gotta' tell you something.  It's really, really bad.' And he started telling me what happened," said the mother of the sixth grader allegedly bullied.

The child's mother said what she heard next was a disturbing account of three junior high school boys ganging up on her sixth grade son, exposing themselves, and performing sexual acts.

"It was so hard for him to tell, because he knew this group of boys was going to give him a terrible time at school for telling, and they have," she said,

The child's parents said it all happened in the back of a school bus headed to Branson for an end-of-the-year field trip.  They said the superintendent told them any disciplinary actions would happen the following school year.

"I would never, ever believe that a school administrator would hear something like this and not do anything," the child's mother said.

The actions qualify as both assault and sexual misconduct.  This was forced on a little boy, by his peers, and the school did nothing.  There was no follow-up.  In fact, the boy has had death threats made against him.  In his experience of the world, the bullies have the upper hand.  This isn't name calling or standard bullying behavior.  This is sexual assault.

The school replied with a thoughtless canned response saying they are dealing with it according to policy and student safety is a priority.  Apparently not, on both counts.  Unless it's policy to leave a defenseless kid without a safe haven and dismiss him when he shared very embarrassing things.

They should be ashamed.