Santa Rosa school district sued over alleged sexual assault at Piner High School

A former Piner High student and her mother have sued the Santa Rosa City Schools district, alleging the girl was sexually assaulted on campus during school hours by a male classmate who previously had been the subject of a sexual harassment report made to school officials on the girl's behalf.

The alleged attack, on March 6, 2015, occurred when the girl, then a 14-year-old freshman, stepped out of class to go to the bathroom and the older classmate followed her, according to the lawsuit filed earlier this month in federal court.

Before she reached the restroom, the girl was pulled into a nearby secluded area where the male classmate, 17, identified in the lawsuit only by the initials C.E., assaulted her, said Jeff Herman, a Florida attorney representing the girl. The student then forced penetration with his hand.

The girl was listed in the lawsuit as a “Jane Doe” to protect her identity as a minor.

“He overpowered her,” Herman said in a phone interview Wednesday. “He had her by the neck in a chokehold.”

After the assault, Herman said, the girl told another student what happened to her. Together, they reported the incident to school officials, he said. Police were called on to campus and the boy was arrested, Herman said.

“She was scared. She didn't know what to do,” Herman said, adding that the girl no longer attends Piner but remains in the area. “This was a vicious assault.”

Santa Rosa police confirmed they investigated a sexual assault at the school last March and that a suspect was arrested. However, they could not provide details in the case or its outcome in the court system because the case involved a juvenile.

School district officials declined to comment on the case this week, noting that they had yet to receive official notice of the lawsuit.

Jason Lea, the district's assistant superintendent for human resources, said he could not speak about the reported incident or the students involved because of laws governing student privacy. He did not respond to a follow-up email and phone call seeking comment on how the school handled the incident or its aftermath.

The seven-page complaint, filed March 14, seeks a jury trial and various unspecified damages, including for medical expenses, counseling and attorney fees.

It comes at time of heightened scrutiny over student safety on campus, as California university officials scramble to deal with multiplying reports of sexual assaults and harassment of college students, especially women.

According to the suit, the girl and her mother had notified Piner High School before the alleged assault that the boy and his friends were verbally harassing her and taking photos of her buttocks. School officials did nothing, though, Herman said.

“The school was aware that the girl was being harassed. They should have taken remedial measures,” he said. “This girl should have been protected.”

Herman said school officials also knew the male student posed a risk to students after an alleged previous arrest on suspicion of sexual assault at Analy High School in Sebastopol. Herman had no other details in that reported incident and declined to release the student's name because he was a minor at that time.

Sebastopol Police Sgt. David Ginn called the claim of a prior attack at Analy High false.

“Back in March 2014, the Sebastopol police did investigate something. There was no arrest made and it did not happen (at) Analy High School,” said Sgt. Greg DeVore, who could not provide further details because the investigation involved minors.

Steven Kellner, superintendent of the West Sonoma County Union High School District, could not confirm whether an attack occurred at Analy without the student's name.

Generally speaking, Kellner said the district forwards academic and disciplinary records when students transfer to new schools. Had a student committed a sexual assault on campus and transferred to a different high school, that would have been noted in the record, Kellner said.

The suit raises questions about student safety at the high school.

Herman contended, “The liability is extremely clear here.” He said school officials could have transferred the boy, expelled him or closely monitored him after his client and her mother complained about the harassment.

“There are numerous things that schools can and should do,” said Herman, whose practice focuses on sexual abuse cases nationwide and has offices in New York City and Boca Raton, Fla. “None of these things were done.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.