Q: Can I do anything against my old school for how they handled sexual assault?
A few years ago while in middle school (we were all about 13), a boy in my grade repeatedly assaulted me and about 13 others. We all decided to report about a year later.
We went to our administrative offices, and the next day a cop was brought in. We were asked basic questions.
Well, they told the perpetrator who "snitched" on him, never told our parents anything (the police and the school both neglected to tell our parents), and only sent him to an alternative campus for six weeks.
Is there anything I can do about them refusing to tell our parents, or for them telling him who said what without anyone pressing charges when they said we would be anonymous?
A:
In Texas, given your age at the time of the conduct, the relevant definition of sexual assault is:
A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly:
(A) causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of a child by any means;
(B) causes the penetration of the mouth of a child by the sexual organ of the actor;
(C) causes the sexual organ of a child to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor;
(D) causes the anus of a child to contact the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; or
(E) causes the mouth of a child to contact the anus or sexual organ of another person, including the actor.
If boy in your grade repeatedly committed one of more of these acts on you and thirteen of your classmates, you should immediately tell your parents. The boy can be charged in juvenile court with delinquent conduct, and the court system will address such conduct.
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