Family sues Iowa school district over sexual assault

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Attorneys for an Iowa family said in a lawsuit that they believe the way the Dubuque school district responded to bullying contributed to a girl being sexually assaulted at school in 2019.

The lawsuit says the district refused to allow the girl to transfer to another high school after she was routinely bullied by a male student. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the family says the district also failed to prevent contact between the two students even though the bullying continued.

Then in 2019 the girl reported to the district and police that she had been sexually assaulted by the boy.

Dubuque Police Lt. Ted McClimon said police investigated but that no charges were filed after the Dubuque County attorney reviewed the case.

But the lawsuit argues that the school district was negligent in the way it responded.

“Schools are there to protect students, schools should listen to students and families when they voice concerns, and schools should provide a safe learning environment for children,” said attorney Benjamin Novotny, who is representing the family. “They failed on all three of those counts.”

The district’s attorneys deny that the school system did anything wrong. They also said in court documents that even though the girl reported being sexually assaulted, officials don’t have enough information to prove that the assault happened. And the lawyers argue that the district shouldn’t be held responsible for the assault.