ISSAQUAH, Wash. — A former Skyline High School student and her sister are suing the Issaquah School District for bullying, harassment, abuse and retaliation. The sisters claim the school didn’t protect them after the older sister, who was a junior, was sexually assaulted by two football players in 2014.
She said the assault happened in October 2014 at the home of one of the players she’d been dating, a second player was also at the home. Juvenile court records show both teens pleaded guilty to assault 4 with sexual motivation.
The claim says instead of supporting the student after she reported the assault to police, the school allowed students to harass the victim. The lawsuit claims a football coach joined in the harassment on Twitter.
The lawsuit says a protection order forced the district to move the two suspects off the football team and out of the school. Skyline High School, a known football powerhouse, started losing games and didn’t go to the State Championship in 2014.
The victims were blamed for the losses, according to their attorney, and the home where the sisters lived was targeted with eggs, feces and paintballs.
They say fireworks were taped together and thrown at the house, shattering a window. The claims says the family was forced to move.
The Issaquah School District defends how it handled the situation:
"The Issaquah School District has just been made aware of a lawsuit that was recently filed against it which contains very serious and sensitive allegations. The District is now in the process of reviewing the lawsuit with legal counsel, but generally denies any allegations of legal wrongdoing.
"The District recognizes that the allegations set forth in the lawsuit touch upon sensitive subjects for all of the individuals involved, as well as the community, but we are unable to offer any further remarks on the lawsuit or the specific allegations contained in the lawsuit at this particular time.
"We do want our families, and the public, to know that the safety of our students remains of paramount importance. The Issaquah School District has established processes in place for staff to receive, investigate, and respond to reports of all forms of misconduct and defers investigations to local law enforcement when the situation is outside of our jurisdiction."
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