S.D. deaf school students accuse teen of sexual abuse...

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Miss-Delectable

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S.D. deaf school students accuse teen of sexual abuse... | KXNet.com North Dakota News

A judge in Sioux Falls heard arguments Monday but did not rule on a lawsuit by former South Dakota School for the Deaf students who accuse another student of sexually assaulting them.

They filed the complaint in 2004 against the Board of Regents, former superintendent Jon Green and the Jack Rabbit Lines bus company.

The four students accuse a 17-year-old male of assaulting them, and the defendants of not responding to the complaints.

Lawyers say the students were attacked in showers, bathrooms and dormitory rooms.

A lawyer for the school says police were called to investigate the allegations, but the claims were vague and weren't reported within the statute of limitations.
 
Abuse Allegations Surface At School For The Deaf

News for Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa

Widespread allegations of sexual abuse are beginning to surface at the South Dakota School for the Deaf that had been kept private for years.

The allegations go back as early as 2002 involving as many as seven students, but details were never released to the public because a lawsuit in the case is sealed.

But today during a court hearing, details came to light of how one student is accused of preying on others.

Lawyers for four of the victims claim their clients were repeatedly raped and sodomized in showers, bathrooms and dormitory rooms at the South Dakota School for the Deaf by a student only identified as TM.

Greg Eisland, who represents the victims in the lawsuit, calls TM a sexual predator who was allowed to be in charge of other students when staff weren't present.

Eisland says the school and its staff had a responsibility to protect the students. But instead of making sure they were safe, they turned their backs on them.

Eisland also claims The South Dakota School for the Deaf knew about the allegations, but "swept them under the rug" by trying to counsel the boys themselves rather than report them.

Eisland says the Division of Criminal Investigation had never heard of the claims.

But lawyers for the school disagree. Mark Marshall says police were called to investigate the allegations. But the claims of sexual abuse of when, where and what happened are "very vague and the allegations seemed to take on a life of their own."

And Marshall claims the boys didn't report the incidents within a two year period, which is the law.

Jon Green was in charge of the school at the time of the alleged incidents. He's named in the lawsuit among other staff members and the South Dakota Board of Regents, but doesn't face any charges.

As for TM, the alleged predator, we don't know if he was ever charged, because he was a juvenile at the time.
 
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