By CHRISTINE HAINES chaines@yourmvi.com
A civil suit has been filed against Geibel Junior Senior High School, its principal and two male students, alleging that one of those students attempted to sexually assault a female student while the other stood guard. The suit was filed Thursday in federal court in Pittsburgh by attorney Joel Sansone on behalf of the female student.
According to the complaint, on or about June 20, 2019, the three students were performing volunteer work at the school as a graduation requirement. During that time, one male student forcibly kissed the victim, picked her up and carried her into a bathroom where he pulled down his pants and attempted to pull down hers as she repeatedly objected and stated “no” and “stop.”
During the struggle the female’s cell phone fell to the ground, startling the male, allowing her to escape from the bathroom, the complaint states.
According to the complaint, the female spotted the second male outside of the bathroom as she left. She immediately left the school and told her parents about the incident. The female student and her parents met with principal Patricia Nickler around 9 p.m. that evening.
The next day Nickler reportedly told the girl that her “case would be closed and not revisited” if she didn’t meet with the principal, the accused male student and his parents, the suit alleges. During the meeting the male student denied the attack and his father called the female student a liar, according to the suit.
Nickler reportedly told the female and her parents that she could not report the incident to any of the required agencies because it was the weekend and she also told them not to discuss or report the incident to anyone else. According to the suit, neither of the male students was disciplined. The suit also contends that the school and Nickler were aware of three previous incidents of alleged sexual assaults involving the same male student prior to the attack on the plaintiff.
The June 20 incident was reported to police June 25 by Nickler, the suit states. The suit contends that the female student has since been subjected to harassment by the second male and that the school has failed to separate the two students during school hours, subjecting the female student to a sexually hostile environment and pervasive harassment.
According to the suit, the hostile environment has resulted in the female student missing numerous days of school, damaging her educational experience and violating her rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
The suit also contends that the school has failed to protect a student in its charge by failing to supervise students on its property and by allowing the continuing harassing atmosphere. The third civil charge is one of negligence related to the failure to supervise the students, resulting in the assault.
The final charge is one of infliction of emotional distress resulting from the previously stated circumstances.
The suit is seeking damages including the cost of the suit, compensatory damages and other relief as may be deemed appropriate. A jury trial is being sought.