SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — An $8 million lawsuit is being pursued against Suffolk Public Schools officials after a girl said she was assaulted at Turlington Woods School in May 2022, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the 14-year-old girl was assaulted after the teacher left the classroom, leaving the students unsupervised. The boy allegedly had a history of sexually harassing and assaulting girls in school.
The plaintiff’s lawsuit argues that the school shouldn’t have left the student unsupervised and didn’t protect the girl while she was under their care. The lawsuit includes the teacher and the principal.
Two members of the school board, a principal, two administrators, one teacher, and the City Attorney are charged with gross negligence, failure to protect, and other charges.
“The concern that we have is that all signs indicate that this is something that was likely predictable and certainly preventable,” said the victim’s attorney, Kevin Biniazan.
Back on May 13, 2022, when Standards of Learning exams were underway at Turlington Woods School, John Doe, who has a history of violent sexual behavior was left unsupervised in a classroom, according to the lawsuit.
Doe allegedly pulled the 14-year-old girl by the waist and sexually assaulted her for 10 minutes, according to the lawsuit, with the assault interrupted when the teacher returned to the classroom.
“However, the school district responded to it, and within that system was a young boy or a teenage boy who had a history of assaultive behavior, and they were placed in the same class,” Biniazan said. “And we don’t know why. We don’t know the necessarily the exact circumstances as to why the teacher left the classroom and left them unattended and left them together without supervision.”
This is where the case gets even more disturbing.
According to the lawsuit, three days later, the principal was notified of the assault, but the principal did not notify police. The victim’s family is seeking $8 million in damages.
“Ultimately, the family will sue for money damages in the case, which is all we can do,” Biniazan said. “And it’s a cheap form of justice because there’s no amount of money that will ever replace this experience. There’s no amount of money that this family or this young girl would ever trade to have to not have to go through this. But ultimately, what they’re hoping for is by achieving some form of justice.”
The school has declined to comment due to the pending litigation.