Legal Rights of Student Sex Abuse Victims

Attorney contributor Laurence Banville represents sex abuse victims and their families in civil lawsuits. Laurence has offered to share some info on the legal rights of students who have been sexually abused by coaches and other school employees:

Sexual predators are often found in positions of trust, including teaching, coaching, and other educational professions. School officials must do everything they can to make sure all employees are trustworthy and students are safe from sexual predators. But sadly, there have been widespread reports of teachers and coaches sexually abusing students throughout the country.

When a coach or teacher is charged with sexually abusing a student, the school should also be investigated. Some of these cases of abuse only happen due to negligence by school officials, like failing to run background checks or ignoring past complaints of inappropriate behavior by the employee who was arrested. In cases of negligence, school sex abuse victims and their families may have grounds for a lawsuit.

If you or your child is a victim of school sex abuse, you can learn more about your family’s legal options in a free consultation with one of our experienced sex abuse victim lawyers.

Kingston High School in Kingston, NY

Sources

https://wpdh.com/kingston-coach-had-sexual-relationship-with-student-police-say/

https://dailyvoice.com/new-york/northorange/news/area-hs-varsity-coach-charged-with-sexual-abuse-for-alleged-relationship-with-player/789428/

This story has been updated. 

Decatur, GA — City Schools of Decatur is investigating a video that shows the son of a Decatur High administrator making racist threats.

It is the latest incident involving a video of a Decatur High student using a racial slur, but this video also includes a threat to the African American community.

The video shows the student holding a toy gun while saying he will use it to “kill n******.”

Octavia Bowman, who is black and who has a son attending Decatur High in August, said she is concerned for her son’s safety after seeing the video.

“My son is scared,” she said. “I’m scared for him. The black city of Decatur community is hurting.”

Decaturish received a copy of the video on May 27.

The student is the son of Cheryl Nahmias, a Decatur High Instructional Coach/International Baccalaureate Coordinator. He is also the nephew of Georgia Supreme Court Presiding Justice David Nahmias.

In a statement, Cheryl and her husband Eddy apologized for their son’s actions. He was 14 when he was filmed and is currently a student at Decatur High.

“We are embarrassed and saddened by the video of our son that we first saw last night as it started spreading through social media,” they said. “The video was made about a year ago. There is no excuse for his actions, and he will face the consequences from the school system and us. He was not making a threat but was inexcusably trying to make a joke about people who make such threats. We will do our best to ensure that he never forgets the harm and pain his actions have caused. We hope we can eventually regain the trust of our community, especially our black neighbors and colleagues. We will work to do so with no expectation that it should be easy for us.  We are so sorry that our son’s actions have contributed to the racial discord and unfairness that continue to plague our country. We love our son and hope his thoughtless action does not define his life.”

Decaturish left a message with David Nahmias seeking comment.

It is unclear whether Cheryl Nahmias will face any consequences for her son’s actions. So far, the student hasn’t been charged with a crime.

A spokesperson for the school district said the Police Department has been contacted.

“City Schools of Decatur is aware of the disturbing video circulating of a young man displaying a weapon while making a racist, threatening statement,” the spokesperson said. “We can confirm this is a Decatur High School student. Due to privacy laws, we are unable to identify the student or his family. We are actively investigating this incident, collaborating with the Decatur Police Department, and will be taking appropriate action at the conclusion of our investigation.”

Superintendent David Dude did not immediately respond to a question about how the district has dealt with the other videos of Decatur High students that have surfaced in recent weeks.

The superintendent did make a statement on Facebook about the latest video.

“I am at a loss for words, so I am going to share my unvarnished thoughts tonight,” Dude said. “I am angry, disgusted, heartbroken, and so many other things. Again tonight many of us have now seen yet another racist display by a Decatur High School student. As if the racist language is not enough, this time it’s accompanied by a display of a weapon and a statement about killing people of color. What is the excuse going to be this time? He didn’t know he was being filmed? He didn’t know someone was going to post it? He was drunk? High? It happened a long time ago? The gun wasn’t real? I’m tired of excuses and I know so many in our community are as well.”

The video is the latest incident that has inflamed racial tensions within the school district. In April, videos emerged of other CSD students using racial slurs. The school district said at the time that it would investigate those videos and there would be consequences for the students involved. In another high profile incident, a home security camera captured video of a white Decatur High lacrosse player knocking on the door of a black Oakhurst resident for eight minutes while his white friend, a fellow lacrosse player, watched the confrontation. Both of the young men were arrested. The young man who knocked on the door was arrested on a charge of simple assault and the other young man was arrested on a charge of being a party to the alleged crime.

Mawuli Davis is noted local civil rights attorney and co-chair of Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights, an organization that has worked for years to improve racial equity in the school system.

He called the latest video “disturbing.”

“It’s alarming, and it requires some action,” Davis said. “We’re having an emergency meeting for Beacon Hill to discuss what our action will be. White supremacy and the disregard for black life and the black community are at an all-time high, and it’s not just in America but it’s in Decatur. These videos, this behavior, these teens, all just further undergird why we have to continue to engage in addressing white supremacy because that’s at the root of all of this.”

This is a developing story and it will be updated when more information becomes available.

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King County prosecutors have charged an 18-year-old Seattle high school student with the rape of a classmate outside a house party in November.

Jackson Sullivan, who played for West Seattle High School’s baseball team, was arrested on investigation of second-degree rape charges late last month. He posted a $350,000 bail. He is scheduled for arraignment June 4. (Court documents show the timeline was delayed because of the coronavirus.)

Interviews with several witnesses and classmates, detailed in charging documents, allege Sullivan has what the police described as other “alarming” sexual assault accusations. The police investigation into Sullivan is still ongoing, and could result in more charges, the document stated; so far, according to the documents, three other young women have accused Sullivan of nonconsensual sexual contact.

The 16-year-old who reported she was assaulted in November now has court-ordered protection from Sullivan.

The Seattle Times could not reach Sullivan. His mother declined to comment on the allegations.

The initial investigation that led to his charges was lengthy. More than five months passed between when the assault was reported and his arrest on April 29.

“The process of interviewing everyone and witnesses (for a rape case) can take awhile,” said SPD Detective Patrick Michaud, who was not aware of the case when called, but spoke in general terms last week. 

The King County Prosecutor’s Office “did a careful review of the totality of evidence” in the police investigation and determined it was worth charging Sullivan, said Casey McNerthney, a spokesman for the office.

Police documents reveal details from that evening and other alleged assaults.

The 16-year-old girl was also a West Seattle High student. She said she’d been playing beer pong inside the November house party just before the assault, according to the documents. She’d had two drinks, she told police, but began to feel like she was blacking out after Sullivan handed her a third drink, which led her to suspect she might have been drugged.

She said her next memory is of the rape. After launching a “massive” search for her, friends found her in the van with the suspect, which was parked a short distance from the house, the documents said. They told police she was nonverbal, partially clothed and covered in her own vomit.

When they confronted Sullivan, the documents reported he said, “I thought she was good for it.” The documents stated a Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory test determined Sullivan’s DNA was present on the teen’s underwear and vaginal swabs.

As officers investigated the November incident, they learned of other alleged incidents of assaults, according to the charging documents.

Two were from Halloween night 2017. One girl said Sullivan sat next to her, draped a blanket over her legs, and penetrated her with his fingers while others were present. Another young woman, who fell asleep next to Sullivan at a different party, said she awoke to him doing the same thing.

At a party following a school dance in March 2019, another girl, who said she was intoxicated at the time, said Sullivan made advances despite her protests, and penetrated her with his fingers while they were both in his car.

A spokesman for Seattle Public Schools declined to comment on whether Sullivan was still enrolled at the district.

FORT WORTH, Texas (Fox 4 Dallas) A former Midway athlete now living in Fort Worth is facing capital murder charges in connection with the death of his daughter.

Fox 4 in Dallas reports a fugitive task force arrested Rakeem Dory, 25, in Waco after getting a tip about his whereabouts.

He was booked into the Tarrant County jail Wednesday afternoon.

His bond is set at $500,000, according to online records.

Records show Dory played football and other sports while attending Midway High School during the 2011-2012 school year.

Dory’s daughter, 4-year-old Zianne Essix, died in February, but a medical examiner just ruled her death a homicide last week.

According to police documents, Dory called 911 on Feb. 17 because Zianne wasn’t breathing and her lips were blue.

In a police report, Dory claimed the child had fallen off a plastic slide in her playroom the previous day.

He said she appeared fine, but he put an ice pack on her head throughout the day.

Dory did admit giving Zianne “six licks” as punishment for not helping to clean up later that day.

He also said he got angry because she soiled herself several times while standing in the playroom for punishment.

Doctors at Cook Children’s Medical Center found brain swelling and significant bruising all over the little girl’s body that they said was not consistent with Dory’s story of a fall.

Investigators also found evidence of blood in the family’s playroom and they recovered recorded phone conversations between Dory and his step-parents that are now considered evidence in the capital murder case, police documents say.

Police said Zianne was living with Dory because her biological mother was already in prison for child neglect.

Dory’s wife was not at home at the time of the alleged abuse.

Another 2-year-old child in the home was not hurt.

HEMPHILL, Texas — The 18-year-old former Jasper High football player accused of sexual assault of a child has been released from jail.

The Sabine County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Terrien Collins was released on Thursday after posting bond.

His bond was set at a combined total of $100,000. Each charge was $50,000, according to the sheriff’s department.

Collins was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and unlawful restraint of a person under 17.

Collins posted a statement on his Facebook page after being released from jail:

“I would like to thank my community and all my family and friends that have my back I love y’all so much god you made me strong for a reason everything I have been through you have been with me ?? I’m cried out I want everybody to know that I’m so thankful I promise I am I know I’m not in anything alone and I’ll never feel alone.”

Collins was arrested Sunday May 10, after being in a car that was pulled over for a traffic stop. He was taken to the Hardin County Jail on two warrants from Sabine County, according to investigators. 

Collins was also a signee for Texas A&M Commerce’s football program. 

He was released from a letter of intent Tuesday, according to a statement from Josh Manck, the senior associate director of athletics for strategic communications at Texas A&M Commerce.  

“Lion Athletics is aware of the very serious charges brought against a young man who had signed a letter of intent to participate in intercollegiate athletics at Texas A&M University-Commerce. In light of the grave nature of these allegations, he has been released from his letter of intent, and the young man will not be a Lion student-athlete nor admitted to the institution this fall,” Manck said in the statement.  

RELATED: Former Jasper High football player ‘released’ from letter of intent at Texas A&M Commerce

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HARDIN COUNTY, Texas — A former Jasper football player has been ‘released’ as a signee and won’t be admitted to Texas A&M Commerce this fall after being charged with a child sex assault. 

Terrien Shayveon Collins was arrested Sunday and taken to the Hardin County Jail on two warrants from Sabine County according to investigators. 

He was a signee for Texas A&M Commerce’s football program. 

12News received a statement from Josh Manck, the senior associate director of athletics for strategic communications at Texas A&M Commerce. 

“Lion Athletics is aware of the very serious charges brought against a young man who had signed a letter of intent to participate in intercollegiate athletics at Texas A&M University-Commerce. In light of the grave nature of these allegations, he has been released from his letter of intent, and the young man will not be a Lion student-athlete nor admitted to the institution this fall,” Manck said in the statement.  

RELATED: Former Jasper High School football player arrested, charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child

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Hardin County investigators said Collins was arrested early Sunday morning on two warrants when a car he was riding in was pulled over for a traffic stop.

This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.

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Terrien Shayveon Collins

Hardin County Jail

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KOUNTZE, Texas — An 18-year-old former Jasper High football player is behind bars in Hardin County, held on a child sex assault charge. 

Terrien Shayveon Collins was booked in on Sunday, May 10 according to Hardin County Jail records. 

According to Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis, Collins was arrested in Silsbee on two warrants from Sabine County. The warrants were for aggravated sexual assault of a child and unlawful restraint of a person under 17. 

Silsbee Police Chief Shawn Blackwell told 12News he was the passenger in a car when he got arrested. The driver was pulled over around 3:05 a.m. on May 10 near Old Evadale Highway and FM 418 for a traffic stop. 

Sabine County officials plan to pick Collins up within the next 10 days according to Davis. 

This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.

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