Ohio school district sued by family who says their daughter with Down syndrome was sexually assaulted by classmates

From FOX 8-TV in Cleveland, Ohio:

A family files suit against their daughter's school, alleging she was sexually violated by two classmates.

"They dropped the ball too many times and we just felt that we had no other choice but to file a lawsuit," said the girl's mother, who did not want to be identified for fear of publicly identifying her daughter.

The family is suing Prospect Elementary and the Oberlin City School District. She claims they did little to protect her 12-year-old daughter, who has Down's Syndrome, from being sexually assaulted at school by two classmates in May 2007.

"We as parents protect our kids and keep them away from predators and then to send them to school and have this happen, it's just unbelievable," she said.

According to the lawsuit, the 5th grade boys "had a disciplinary history with Oberlin Schools, and both were deemed to be 'problematic' children."

It states, one boy "had a history of potential sexual assault and that he had psychological issues relating to abuse and assault."

"Looking back, she would talk about having boyfriends at school, and we just thought it was kind of a puberty thing, seeing things on TV," said the girl's mother.

The mother learned about the activity after her daughter's friend notified the principal, who informed the family. She says she spoke to school officials about making her daughter safe, but is not satisfied.

"The family gave the school the benefit of the doubt and the school has still failed in the sense of allowing these students to still remain around their daughter," said the family's attorney Arlene Sokolowski-Craft.

School officials would not comment, but a statement on their website reads in part, "Twenty months ago, when these allegations first arose, investigations were done by district personnel, by Children's Services, and by local law enforcement, no charges were ever filed, frankly, it comes a surprise that 20 months later, this concern has resurfaced."

"They need to keep the kids safe, if they have to change policies, we did everything that we could and they just were unable to prove to us that they could keep our daughter safe," says the mother.

The family is asking for a monetary settlement of more than $25,000, but they say the lawsuit is not about money. They feel policy changes are needed.