Family of sex assault victim sues DOE, McKinley High staff

The household of a former McKinley Excessive College pupil is suing the state Division of Training and college personnel after their minor daughter was sexually assaulted in a boy’s toilet by a ninth grader who had flashed a gun two hours earlier than the February 2021 incident.

The male pupil was
arrested and charged with first-degree sexual assault and prosecuted in Household Court docket. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by attorneys representing the household
of the woman, lists DOE and
10 unnamed defendants.

The gun was a Daisy-
model airsoft pistol that
resembles an actual firearm.

Honolulu police, responding to a name from McKinley’s vice principal in regards to the sexual assault, discovered the gun and an axe on the second-
flooring balcony of Constructing M on the varsity’s campus. Neither the gun nor the axe had been used in the course of the
assault.

McKinley Principal Ron Okamura didn’t reply to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser request for remark. A DOE spokesperson declined remark, citing lively or pending litigation.

“The security of our youngsters whereas on campus ought to at all times be one of many highest priorities throughout the Division of Training. It’s extra than simply an expectation that we’ve as dad and mom, it’s a requirement underneath the legislation,” mentioned Thomas Otake, an lawyer representing the woman’s household.

“This can be a tragic case of what can occur when college officers fail of their duties associated to security and safety. The DOE must do higher, and our purchasers hope this case will result in much-needed enhancements so nothing like this ever occurs once more.”

DOE’s Civil Rights Compliance Department carried out an investigation into the Feb. 21, 2021, incident however the findings weren’t made public. It’s not clear whether or not any communication in regards to the incident
was despatched to McKinley Excessive College dad and mom.

In line with the civil criticism filed final week in Circuit Court docket, the woman was attending courses at Mc­Kinley for the primary time after distant instruction in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. She adopted the ninth grader and one other boy to Constructing M throughout her lunch break after the ninth grader advised her they might meet pals there.

Constructing M is situated “on the outskirts of Mc­Kinley’s giant 5-acre campus, close to the nook of South King Road and Pensacola Road. It’s removed from the administration constructing, the cafeteria, the mall, and the primary classroom buildings,” the lawsuit notes.

McKinley’s coverage on the time reportedly required that the door to the boy’s toilet in Constructing M stay locked always.

The on-campus safety employees was assigned to patrol Constructing M, together with the boy’s toilet, and safety cameras had been positioned to surveil parts of the constructing, together with the hall within the quick neighborhood of the boy’s toilet, in response to the criticism.

Earlier than the Feb. 21 assault passed off, the boy’s toilet in Constructing M “was
unlocked, the hallway and different areas within the neighborhood
of the boy’s toilet had been vacant and abandoned, there have been no safety personnel or Mc­Kinley employees within the space, and nobody was monitoring the safety cameras surveilling the realm,” the lawsuit says.

The woman entered the lavatory together with her alleged assailant after the opposite boy went in first. The ninth grader reportedly groped the woman, catching her without warning, then pressured her to have intercourse, in response to the criticism. The opposite boy within the toilet on the time advised college officers and investigators that he heard her repeatedly demand an finish to the assault, the lawsuit claims.

Police and McKinley Excessive College directors reviewed the surveillance video, which reveals the three college students getting into and leaving the lavatory. When requested by a vice principal to report what had occurred to her, the woman initially responded that she didn’t need to say as a result of “the perpetrator had gang-
associated pals, and that he had a gun,” the lawsuit says.

McKinley directors additionally did not observe required security measures after the woman advised them the ninth grader had a gun on campus, the criticism alleges.

“As an alternative of urgently locking down the varsity and using security measures to deal with a gun on campus, McKinley administration telephoned the Perpetrator’s behavioral well being specialist, who was assembly with the Perpetrator on the time,” in response to the
lawsuit.

The varsity allegedly knew the ninth grader had beforehand demonstrated aggressive and violent habits after reporting being bullied. After police had been known as to answer the sexual assault, the boy was advised that somebody was coming to get him and requested if he had any weapons in his possession.

“The Perpetrator turned visibly agitated and ran out of the room along with his backpack despite the fact that he was
directed to not go away. The Perpetrator hid his gun and an ax close by then returned to the room the place he had met with the behavioral well being specialist,” in response to the criticism.

The woman underwent a medical examination following the sexual assault and likewise obtained medical care. She not attends the varsity.

The criticism says she and her dad and mom “proceed to wrestle with the ensuing trauma.”