Just when you thought you heard the worst of the worst social ills, along comes another one more disturbing and horrifying than the last. After faculty at Sparkman Middle School in Toney, AL were made aware of a boy student who had allegedly been luring his peers into the bathroom for sex, a teacher’s aide devised a plan to catch him once and for all. The aide, June Simpson, convinced a 14-year-old special needs student to pose as bait in the bathroom, assuring the student that she, the aide, would run into the bathroom before anything took place.
The plan, which initially happened in 2010, failed when the girl student met the boy in a different bathroom and no one was there to intervene before he compromised her. Allegedly, according to court documents, the victim reported the attack to Vice Principal Jeanne Dunaway, but Dunaway did nothing to address it. According to DailyMail.co.uk, one vice principal said that the female student was responsible for herself when she went into the bathroom, while another said they weren’t sure whether she consented to the alleged assault.
[Image: Shutterstock]
A week prior to the incident, Vice Principals Dunaway and Teresa Terrell were notified that the boy had touched a female student inappropriately, and he was assigned in-school suspension, according to federal attorneys. A few days after, Simpson also made complaints to Principal Ronnie Blair that the suspect had repeatedly attempted to have sex with other girl students in the bathroom on the special needs corridor. She made claims that he had even already had sex with one student.
The alleged victim’s attorney Eric Artrip said his client refused when the Simpson first suggested she pose as bait, but finally agreed. Artrip told CNN, “She stalled for time. She continually tried to fight him off but ultimately was anally raped by this young man.” According to CNN, the Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education filed an amicus brief on Wednesday in support of the alleged victim’s family’s lawsuit against the Madison County School Board. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Alabama will decide whether to accept the argument.
The outcome of this case is still to be determined, but it is clear that both students, the alleged victim and sexual perpetrator, were failed by their school faculty. Measures beyond in-school suspension should have been taken as soon as teachers and principals were made aware of the alleged assaults. Since nothing was done, the male student’s obvious mental health issues are still unaddressed, and the victims are now left to cope with the aftermath of this traumatic experience.
[Images: Twitter/Madison County Schools]