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Did school cover up sex assaults?

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published February 8, 2007

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Teachers and administrators at Central Elementary School knew they had a problem with F.H., a 12-year-old who had been accused of going into a bathroom stall and sexually assaulting a first-grade boy.

But instead of calling police and removing F.H., district officials covered up the attack and allowed him to remain in class, leading to the sexual assault of three more first-graders, parents say.

The allegations, contained in a $15-million federal lawsuit against the Allentown school system, have created an uproar in Pennsylvania's third-largest city.

The district denies wrongdoing and has asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

But it has not disputed that assaults occurred.

The assaults began in December 2003, a few months after F.H., a special education student with a history of behavioral problems, was transferred to Central Elementary.

After learning of the first assault, administrators kept quiet and allowed F.H. to remain in school, the lawsuit said. The 12-year-old sexually assaulted three more first-graders over the next four months, according to the parents.

For the final assault, F.H. was found guilty in juvenile court of rape and sent to a detention center until he turns 18.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 00:35:29]