Feb 23, 2009 10:36 pm US/Central
Naperville Student Sex Assault Debate Rages
Parents Upset Alleged Attacker Still Attends School With Their Son
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Gregory Middle School in Naperville, Ill.
CBS
The debate continues in Naperville about whether to remove two students charged with sexually assaulting a classmate. CBS 2's Dana Kozlov first spoke to the victim's parents. Monday night, she has the latest from them - and the
school board meeting in Aurora.
"Tell me that you wouldn't want the people who brutalized your son to get the hell out of that school!" the victim's mother said.
Their pain is still raw, but the parents of the
11-year-old boy who was allegedly sexually assaulted by two Gregory Middle School students, continue to fight for victims' rights.
"When you have students charged with violent crimes against other students, both in and out of school, and the police reports to back it up that I know you've all read, have the human decency to meet with the parents next time - immediately," the victim's father said.
We are not identifying the parents to protect their son. But they say, last month, Indian Prairie District 204 officials separated the two alleged offenders from their son after the
off-campus November attack - but kept them all in the same school.
School officials say policy dictated that's all they could do for the off-campus incident.
But one board member wants to change that.
"Move an aggressor to a school away from the victim to give the victim the best opportunity to recover and thrive," said IPSD 204 Board Member Curt Bradshaw.
One suggestion discussed was that if a student is charged, convicted or pleads guilty to a felony, the district would have a right to reassign him or her.
But the district's lawyer says legally, officials have to be very careful when it comes to student discipline and rights.
"That becomes a difficult line to draw. How severe does the fight have to be before we start moving kids around," said District 204 Attorney Jack Canna.
But the 11-year-old victim's attorney says policy was in place, and the board could have done more if it wanted to.
"I'm ashamed of the school board and I think that they need to get back together and figure out how to do this the right way," said Larry Oldfield, attorney for victim's family.
Last week, the victim's family did reach an agreement in civil court that would keep their son in the same school with one alleged offender - with no contact.
In the meantime, District 204 officials will continue to discuss discipline policy changes.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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