Parents say teenage son with disability was raped by fellow student in school bathroom, allege coverup

[Russian Comrades At NBC]

CHICAGO (WBBM) — A mother and father say their 15-year-old
developmentally disabled son was raped in a school bathroom – and
they say the Chicago Public Schools refused to say it happened, and
also blamed their child.

As CBS 2’s Irika Sargent reported Wednesday night, CPS tried to get
a judge to dismiss the case twice – the latest time Wednesday. The
motions were denied.

The parents wanted their identities concealed, but they have spoken
for the first time on camera – only to CBS 2. We want to warn you
that the details may be disturbing to read and hear for some.

“How the heck did that happen, in school,” the boy’s mother said. “I
mean, no one was watching.”

“We’d thought he’d be safe in school, you know,” the boy’s father
said.

The mother and father said their son was raped at least twice in the
bathroom at William J. Bogan Computer Technical High School, 3939 W.
79th St. His attacker, they believe, was another teen at the school.

They say it came to light after their son confided in a classmate.

“He told her what happened, and then she went and reported it to a
teacher,” the boy’s mother said.

Since then, the parents say Bogan staff and Chicago Public Schools
have fought them at every turn – refusing to admit the attack
happened or take steps to stop such a thing from happening again –
and even blaming their son.

They say while meeting with the principal, she asked their son to
act out the alleged crime.

When asked how that conversation went, the boy’s mother said, “It
was terrible.”

“So she told him to ‘stand up and show me how it happened,’” she
said. “And then, ‘Well, did it hurt?’ I mean, that was – what kind
of question is that?”

The parents did not want to press charges against the other disabled
teen, believing he needed help. But they are suing CPS, contending
the district failed to protect their son.

They said an action was in place for both students requiring an aide
to escort each one throughout the school building – but that didn’t
happen.



After they filed suit, their attorney, Carolyn Daley, said she
discovered the same boy had a history of aggressive behavior and
sexual misconduct – including 27 conduct violations.

“He was found in a bathroom with two other students from the cluster
program, or special education program, at Bond Elementary,” Daley
said. “One of the students was bent over in front of him with his
pants down.”

Daley said even after her client was raped at Bogan, CPS didn’t take
steps to stop it from happening to others.

“They didn’t even bother to tell his teachers or his aides that he
was accused of sexually assaulted another student in the bathroom.
They carried on as if nothing happened,” Daley said. “Well, what
happens when you do that? He ended up sexually assaulting another
cognitively disabled child in the bathroom at Bogan High School
eight months later.”

“He told me he was hurt. ‘I’m hurt’,” the other child’s mother said
in the 2018 story, “and he mentioned blood. I mean, I went crazy.”

CPS hired a private law firm, calling the deposition testimony of
the boy in the latest case “self-serving” and saying they had no
duty to protect him in the bathroom.

“The most vulnerable spot for a child at a school is in the
bathroom,” Daley said.



The trial starts next week.

https://kesq.com/news/2022/02/11/parents-say-teenage-son-with-
disability-was-raped-by-fellow-student-in-school-bathroom-allege-
coverup/