Family of 9-year-old girl sues BPS, transportation company amid allegations she was sexually assaulted on bus – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

BOSTON (WHDH) – A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the family of a 9-year-old girl against Boston Public Schools and Transdev Services, alleging that both failed to protect the girl from being repeatedly sexually assaulted by another student while riding the bus home from school from Match Charter Public School in Hyde Park.

In a statement, Morgan & Morgan alleged that over the course of seven months during the 2022-2023 school year, the plaintiff was repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped on the bus by an 11-year-old classmate and “not only suffered great physical and mental harm, but she was forced to leave school just a few months shy of finishing fourth grade for fear of the physical or social repercussions, impacting her academic and social development.”

The complaint alleges when the school became aware of the sexual assault, an investigation uncovered that despite Transdev requiring this specific bus to have mandatory video equipment onboard, no video was found for any of the dates of the alleged assaults.

“There is a nine-year-old child in Boston who was raped repeatedly on her way home from school over an entire school year,” said attorneys Nina Bonelli and Alexander Zodikoff. “Our lawsuit alleges that it was the failure of Boston Public Schools and Transdev to follow their own policies that directly led to this young child’s assault. Our client will experience a childhood haunted by trauma and flashbacks, and we will do everything in our power to hold the defendants accountable and prevent anything like this from happening to another child in our city.”

In a statement, Boston Public Schools said, “Our jurisdiction to take action is limited when it comes to students who do not attend a Boston Public School but still utilize BPS buses, and we were devastated to learn of this disturbing alleged incident five months after it occurred. Once we were informed, BPS took all the available and appropriate steps possible.”

In a statement, Match Charter Public School said, “While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we took all appropriate steps to immediately notify the proper authorities, work closely with the families involved, and ensure the safety of the students. Match Charter School does not operate the buses that transport our students to and from school. But, we are committed to supporting our students and families whether incidents happen on or off campus.”

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