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PORTLAND, Ore. (Portland Tribune) — The family of a 13-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by two boys on a Hillsboro School District bus has filed a $700,000 lawsuit against the district and the bus driver.
The lawsuit alleges the district negligently failed to protect the girl and failed to adequately supervise and train the bus driver, who was not named, to monitor student safety and report students’ conduct.
The bus driver, who was referred to as Jane Doe in the legal complaint, was accused of violating Oregon laws when she failed to stop the incident and later report it to school officials, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Washington County Circuit Court on Monday, Oct. 4.
A spokesperson for the district, Beth Graser declined to comment while the matter is being litigated.
The lawsuit was first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
On the bus ride home after school on March 18, 2019, the girl stood up to adjust her clothes when a boy came over and began trying to slap and touch her buttocks, the lawsuit says.
She tried to push him away, but he persisted, according to the lawsuit.
Another boy then got onto the bus, saw what the first boy was doing and joined in the assault, the lawsuit says.
During the 20-minute assault, the lawsuit alleges, the boys held her down, forcefully slapped her buttocks repeatedly and groped her breasts and crotch multiple times as the girl tried to escape, telling the boys to “stop” and “get off me” more than 20 times.
At one point, one of the boys had the girl in a headlock, the lawsuit says.
It also alleges the boys told the girl, “You know you like it,” during the assault.
The assault, which allegedly only stopped because the bus arrived at a high school, was entirely caught on camera, according to the lawsuit.
The bus driver did nothing intervene during the assault while the girl loudly pleaded for the boys to stop, the lawsuit says, adding that the only adult on the bus was the bus driver.
Another student who witnessed the assault brought the incident to the attention of school officials, according to the lawsuit.
The girl was not named in the lawsuit. As a matter of editorial policy, Pamplin Media Group does not identify underage victims of alleged sexual abuse.
One of the boys told a Hillsboro Police Department officer that type of behavior on the bus was “common,” the lawsuit said.
As a result of the assault, the girl suffered physical and mental injuries that will continue, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was the second in as many days that named the Hillsboro School District as a defendant in a civil case alleging negligence.
The day after the sexual assault lawsuit was filed, the family of a 14-year-old girl who drowned in a Shute Park Aquatic & Recreation Center after a swim team practice in November 2019 filed a lawsuit as well over her death, naming the district among several defendants and seeking $70 million in damages.