Three special-needs children were sexually assaulted on a Philly school bus, lawsuit says

Three children were sexually assaulted on a school bus on their way home from a West Philadelphia elementary school in June, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

The students at Lamberton Elementary were “forced to engage in sexual acts” by older students, according to the lawsuit filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court last week against First Student Inc., the bus company, by a parent of one of the children.

A spokesperson for First Student said he could not comment on ongoing litigation. The national company is one of a number of contractors the Philadelphia School District pays to provide bus services to its students. The School District was not named in the suit.

The three children, ages 8 or 9 and who receive special-education services, were riding the bus home from Lamberton, a K-8 school in Overbrook Park, on June 1 when “several older students on the bus were allowed and/or permitted to harass, ridicule, and otherwise abuse younger students,” the suit said. Specifically, the three younger boys were threatened with violence if they did not perform the sexual acts, said A.J. Thomson, a lawyer representing one of the children.

After the incident occurred, the bus driver texted the child’s mother, Thomson said, saying her son was “being nasty” with two other boys. The driver said an incident report would be filed.

“It was blame the victim, these three special-needs kids,” said Thomson. “The text that they sent was more like, ‘We’re accusing your kid of doing this,’ and not ‘Hey, this tragic, bizarre thing happened on our bus, and we want to do everything we can.’”

Though a police report was filed, the 9-year-old whose mother filed the lawsuit continued to ride the bus after the incident occurred. He was made to sit at the front of the bus for the rest of the year.

Video footage from the bus ride that day is available, but it has not been released to the boy’s family, Thomson said.

Thomson and Jared Zafran, another lawyer on the case, said the bus was supposed to have an adult riding to monitor student behavior, but no such worker was present.

The 9-year-old has suffered “shame, embarrassment, loss of life’s pleasures, mental anguish, psychological and emotional distress, nightmares, fear and other injuries that may be diagnosed in the future” as a result of the alleged assault, the suit said. The boy has had to undergo medical and psychological treatment.

“He’s a young kid, he’s trying to process it,” Zafran said. “These are the most vulnerable kids.”

The 9-year-old’s parent alleges First Student failed to properly train and supervise staff, address safety concerns, provide adequate staffing, establish age-based seating restrictions, and establish a safe environment on the bus. She is seeking “upwards of $50,000″ in damages.

“These kids couldn’t even count on a minimum level of protection,” Thomson said. “This is going to and from school — this is basic.”