A student at one of New York City’s top public high schools was sexually assaulted in the bathroom by a classmate who sent a recording of it to other students.
The victim, identified as Jane Doe in a new lawsuit against the city and the Department of Education, said the attack took place on November 4, 2021 at the prestigious NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies.
The 11th grader claimed the school failed to call the police and a deputy principal even grilled her over the video circulating at the school, the New York Post reports.
‘Regardless of the status of [Jane Doe] as a minor victim of sexual assault or their apparent emotional and psychological trauma, [the assistant principal] forced [her] to write a statement describing her sexual assault,” the lawsuit reads.
Her father, identified as “Joe Doe,” claims the school knew his daughter was a past victim of molestation and that the suspect “had a reputation for engaging in dangerous behavior.”
He also warned that the girl, who is from an Islamic Middle Eastern country, could face execution if she ever returns and officials learn of the attack.
A junior at the prestigious NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies (pictured) was sexually assaulted in the first floor bathroom on November 4, 2021
A lawsuit against the city and Department of Education alleges that the victim was grilled by assistant principal Jason Koch (above) after the attack, which was recorded by the perpetrator and shared among classmates
According to the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court last Friday, the suspect, identified only as “NR,” followed the victim to the school’s first-floor bathrooms.
When he blocked the bathroom exit, NR “demanded” the girl to perform oral sex on him, and when she refused, he forced himself on her, the lawsuit says.
NR allegedly forced her into a toilet stall, pushed her to the ground and “held the back of her head” during the attack, the suit adds.
After the attack, the victim said she found out that NR recorded the crime on his cellphone and showed it to other students.
Upon learning of the video, Assistant Principal Jason Koch allegedly pulled the victim out of class to question her about it without a school counselor present.
The lawsuit alleges the school was negligent in failing to protect the victim, noting that there were no security guards or monitors posted near the bathrooms.
The lawsuit also states that neither Jane Doe’s family nor the police were notified of the attack when the school found out about it.
The family is seeking unspecified damages and have asked not to be identified in court.
Neither the Koch school nor the Department of Education immediately responded to ‘s request for comment.
Located in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, the school ranks in the top five percent of schools in the Big Apple
Alongside his outrage at the attack, Joe Doe said the school’s negligence was apparent after it failed to act when he asked to transfer it to another school following an incident in 2019.
The lawsuit alleges that Jane Doe was a victim of bullying and physical assault in 2019, but a deputy principal disagreed with the family’s request to transfer her to a different school.
The NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood is among the top 5 percent of schools in the Big Apple, according to Public School Review.
The high school ranks in the top 5 percent of all schools in the state for math, reading and overall test scores.
The school also boasts a 95 percent graduation rate, well above the national average of 83 percent.