Lawsuit Filed in Case of Jennings County Special Needs Student

NORTH VERNON, Ind. (WISH) — Attorneys for a 7-year-old special needs boy sexually assaulted on a school bus have filed a complaint against the school district, saying they failed to prevent and stop “multiple sexual assaults” by an older student.

The initial assault happened on April 16. News 8 previously reported a 15-year-old student was arrested on a preliminary charge of rape after police learned they had sexually assaulted the boy while riding on a Jennings County school bus.

On Tuesday, attorneys with Wagner Reese served the Jennings County School Corporation an Indiana Tort Claim Notice for failing to stop the assault.

Laura Swafford, an attorney representing the victim, said in a statement that the 15-year-old was caught on bus camera footage multiple times sexually assaulting the 7-year-old. Swafford claims the bus monitor employees did not intervene.

Below is a full statement from the lawyers:

Attorneys Laura Swafford and Jason Reese at Wagner Reese Law Firm represent the family of a 7-yearold special-needs boy enrolled as a second-grade student in the Jennings County School Corporation. Today, Wagner Reese served an Indiana Tort Claim Notice on the Corporation for failing to prevent and stop multiple sexual assaults by one of its 15-year-old students on the school bus.

Wagner Reese attorney Laura Swafford stated: ‘The victim is a non-verbal special education student who
was improperly seated directly next to a much older 15-year-old student and was helplessly left
unmonitored by two school employees who were on the bus and charged with caring for his safety. Video
camera footage later downloaded from inside the bus shows that, on multiple occasions, the victim was
sexually assaulted and raped, but neither the Corporation’s bus driver nor the extra bus monitor employee did anything to stop the assaults.’

‘This nightmare tragedy should never have happened. How could both the bus driver and the additional
bus monitor aid not notice anything? Like all parents in the community, the boy’s family believed the
school would protect their young, vulnerable son. The family entrusted the school to protect their son by
monitoring activity on the bus. The school system breached this trust and clearly failed in its
responsibility.’

‘The tort claim alleges that the Jennings County School Corporation was grossly negligent, violated the
child’s civil rights, and caused him permanent injuries and damages. The victim’s family is hoping that this
claim and its publicity will help prevent such a tragedy from happening to another child while sending a
powerful message that all schools should be held accountable for the safety and protection of their students, particularly the most vulnerable disabled children.’