Lawsuit: Boy, 8, suffered 'horrific sexual abuse' from classmates
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The parents of a central Indiana boy are suing Ball State University, alleging their son was subjected to "horrific sexual abuse" by fellow second-graders at a university-run school who they say acted out scenes from pornographic videos they downloaded on school computers.
The lawsuit says the boy was 8 years old when he was forced to engage numerous times in sex acts with other children at Burris Laboratory School in Muncie in late 2011. Four second-grade boys, including the alleged victim and another student described as the "ringleader," are believed to have been involved in the sex abuse, the complaint alleges.
Ball State spokesman Tony Proudfoot said in a written statement that the university learned in December 2011 of allegations of inappropriate behavior among four second-graders at the school. He said the matter was "reported promptly" to local law enforcement and the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Proudfoot would not elaborate on the alleged inappropriate behavior, but he said the claims in the lawsuit "bear no resemblance to the evidence or results of the investigations of the university or those of the agencies to which it was reported."
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Judi Calhoun confirmed Tuesday that the sheriff's department and prosecutor's office investigated the allegations. She said she could not comment on any findings because the matter involved juveniles and such cases are not open to the public.
"All I can say in regard to the matter is that it was investigated," Calhoun said.
Proudfoot's statement noted that "no adults were alleged to be perpetrators of abuse of any child in this matter" and said that the university will "vigorously defend these unwarranted allegations."
Jason Delk, an attorney for the boy's parents, also said he could not comment on what prosecutors or police found. But he said the boy suffered psychological and emotional trauma.
"He's absolutely a victim. I don't know that he's the main victim, but he's certainly a victim of the sexual abuse that was going on at Burris," Delk said Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges the students had "unfettered access" to the Internet at school and viewed pornographic videos on school computers and iPads. After viewing those video, the lawsuit states, "the students would then 'act out' the scenes" on each other.
All of the boys were students in the same second-grade class and were allowed by their teacher to go on long, unsupervised restroom breaks, the lawsuit states. Most of the alleged sex acts took place in bathrooms, but some occurred in the school's library and in classrooms, the suit contends.
The suit, filed Friday, seeks compensatory and punitive damages. It alleges the boys engaged in at least 11 separate instances of sexual abuse and molestation over three months in late 2011. Delk said all of the boys were around 8 years old.
He said the suit was filed "as a measure of last resort" after discussions with Ball State officials failed to result in "an understanding." He declined to elaborate.
The lawsuit says the boy was 8 years old when he was forced to engage numerous times in sex acts with other children at Burris Laboratory School in Muncie in late 2011. Four second-grade boys, including the alleged victim and another student described as the "ringleader," are believed to have been involved in the sex abuse, the complaint alleges.
Ball State spokesman Tony Proudfoot said in a written statement that the university learned in December 2011 of allegations of inappropriate behavior among four second-graders at the school. He said the matter was "reported promptly" to local law enforcement and the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Proudfoot would not elaborate on the alleged inappropriate behavior, but he said the claims in the lawsuit "bear no resemblance to the evidence or results of the investigations of the university or those of the agencies to which it was reported."
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Judi Calhoun confirmed Tuesday that the sheriff's department and prosecutor's office investigated the allegations. She said she could not comment on any findings because the matter involved juveniles and such cases are not open to the public.
"All I can say in regard to the matter is that it was investigated," Calhoun said.
Proudfoot's statement noted that "no adults were alleged to be perpetrators of abuse of any child in this matter" and said that the university will "vigorously defend these unwarranted allegations."
Jason Delk, an attorney for the boy's parents, also said he could not comment on what prosecutors or police found. But he said the boy suffered psychological and emotional trauma.
"He's absolutely a victim. I don't know that he's the main victim, but he's certainly a victim of the sexual abuse that was going on at Burris," Delk said Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges the students had "unfettered access" to the Internet at school and viewed pornographic videos on school computers and iPads. After viewing those video, the lawsuit states, "the students would then 'act out' the scenes" on each other.
All of the boys were students in the same second-grade class and were allowed by their teacher to go on long, unsupervised restroom breaks, the lawsuit states. Most of the alleged sex acts took place in bathrooms, but some occurred in the school's library and in classrooms, the suit contends.
The suit, filed Friday, seeks compensatory and punitive damages. It alleges the boys engaged in at least 11 separate instances of sexual abuse and molestation over three months in late 2011. Delk said all of the boys were around 8 years old.
He said the suit was filed "as a measure of last resort" after discussions with Ball State officials failed to result in "an understanding." He declined to elaborate.
If this isn't a South Park episode, it soon will be.
Remember Wenatchee? Maybe we should wait for the truth to come out before rushing to judgment.
 @Hickey Pimpleton The most sensible comment so far.
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Thanks.
My kid got caught doing some bad. Must be time to sue.Â
They weren't born this way. It's all about the parenting or lack of.
Wow - something is seriously wrong with these kids.
what the hell is wrong with these little ingrates these days anyway?
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 @thatsjarrod So are you Beavis or Butthead?
 @Commenter87643  @thatsjarrod both
Porn shouldn't be accessible from school computers BUT, how did they know to find it in the first place? And if it was group action/participation, I blame the parents who never taught their children right from wrong, morality, consequences, kindness, etc etc etc. Sad.
 @achoo2 The truth is you have no idea what the parents taught or didn't teach their children.  Newsflash, even when kids are taught right and wrong they often decide for themselves to do something wrong, happens all the time with most if not all parents.
 @achoo2 little boys like dirty pics..... it use to the underwear section in mail order books, and dads dirty mags. But now the internet is used for it all.....
 @Fiery Girl Not ALL little boys like dirty pics. That's like saying ALL little girls like playing with Barbie. Children learn what they do from their parents or other adults that are in their life regularly. I blame the parents and especially the teachers. Why the heck were groups of boys allowed to go to the bathroom alone or even be unsupervised at any time?
@Robinsnest @Fiery Girl I had some curiosity at 8 and 9 years old, no one gave me any access to the magazines. Even without the magazines I found we had a curiosity. I had no male role model to learn this from unless you count kids in the neighborhood. I could no more blame any adults for my curiosity than I could blame God. That said the school never gave us that kind of freedom. We were monitored by teachers that did the job right.
Porn on school computers - why?
@fyrefawx because the kids downloaded it.
 @northwestsurfer  @fyrefawx The IT person/people should be FIRED. Kids at ANY school shouldn't be able to access it.