A Georgia middle-school girl with special needs was allegedly sexually assaulted and raped by other students on a school bus as the driver failed to intervene, the girl's mother claims in a federal lawsuit.
The abuse, described as "horrific," happened on a nearly daily basis from April 4 to April 20, 2019, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Northern District of Georgia against the Fulton County School District.
The 14-year-old girl, who is identified as "Jane Doe" in court documents, has suffered from physical and mental disabilities since birth and has trouble interacting and communicating with others, according to the suit.
"She has and continues to have neurodevelopmental disabilities that impede and limit her physical and mental capabilities. Doe functions at a cognitive and communicative level far below her actual age," the lawsuit states, describing her as a sweet girl with a "young, child-like nature."
The suit states that on April 4, 2019, a special-needs student left his seat on the bus to sit next to the victim and then groped her breasts before returning to his seat.
"Emboldened by the lack of discipline and restraint," a second student then got up, sat next to the girl and groped her, the suit says. The lawsuit goes on to describe several more incidents in which the second student allegedly assaulted and ultimately raped the girl.
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