HOLLAND, Mich. — A local school is facing a Title IX lawsuit filed by a current student's family.
The plaintiff says Holland Christian Schools has created a hostile education environment for the student after an alleged rape. The suit claims the school violated the Title IX civil rights law that protects students from sex discrimination in federally funded education programs.
13 On Your Side was made aware of the lawsuit on Wednesday, April 11.
Court documents claim the plaintiff was raped by another student and was subject to harassment in the form of the school not protecting her from her rapist.
That plaintiff in this lawsuit, a young woman, was 15-years-old at the time of the incident and was in a secret relationship with a 17-year-old boy that allegedly raped her.
According to the lawsuit, the boy has since been convicted of third degree criminal sexual conduct, but his case has since been suppressed and the Ottawa County Prosecutor's office refuses to comment. The Zeeland Police Department, who initially took on the criminal investigation, also refused to comment about the case or the charge.
The lawsuit reads that the victims parents found out about the secret relationship in the middle of the school year. The lawsuit says the girl's parents took her cell phone away after they caught her communicating with the boy late at night. They say he then provided her with another phone.
The parents began monitoring the young girls phone and later in the year claimed to have found a message from the boy apologizing for forcing her to have sex and referred to the incident as "rape".
School officials were notified of the situation the following school year when the girl confided in a teacher and admitted to being raped.
A criminal investigation was later opened.
The lawsuit claims the girl was traumatized knowing she would have to see the boy in school -- she was even diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. It also claims the parents asked for some restrictions to protect their daughter, but the school did not take any and allowed the boy to roam the halls until he was convicted, at that point, he was no longer allowed to be in school.
“It is important to hold school’s accountable for taking care of their students and not let this be swept under the rug, so to speak, and it does take young people stepping up and saying this happened to me and I don’t want it to happen again," Karen Truszkowski, the Plaintiff’s attorney told 13 On Your Side on Wednesday.
The lawsuit claims Holland Christian Schools did the following:
• Violation of Title IX
• Pendent State Claim Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
• Pendent State Claim Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
• Pendent State Claim Negligence
• Pendent State Claim Breach of Contract
13 On Your Side reached out to the school for comment. Superintendent Dan Meester said the school has no comment regarding the lawsuit.
According to the victim's attorney, the young woman still attends Holland Christian High School, but the boy has since graduated.
The lawsuit is asking for compensatory damages for the victim’s psychological and emotional distress. It’s also asking for effective steps to prevent sex-based discrimination and harassment in all of Holland Christian Schools' programs and activities. It asks to also mitigate the effects of harassment or assault by eliminating any hostile environment that may arise.
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