Sex Assault Lawsuit Against Hazelwood Central High Sealed By Judge

A lawsuit filed against Hazelwood Central High School in February for a sexual assault that occurred on campus has been made secret by a circuit court judge, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. In the suit, the mother of the student assaulted alleged that school administrators were aware of what happened, but failed to report the assault it to officials, and allowed the accused student to remain in school alongside his accuser. The details of the lawsuit were sealed, the court said in a statement, to protect the plaintiff, who is a minor.

The Post-Dispatch reported in February some details of the case. The mother of the victim is identified only as T.S.

T.S. said her daughter...was walking back to class from the bathroom one day in December 2015 at Hazelwood Central.

A male student harassed her, grabbed her, then pulled her into a stairwell and sexually assaulted her, T.S. alleges.

Courts documents have long been ruled to be in the public record and may only be sealed if the government has a compelling interest in doing so. Since the lawsuit was filed anonymously from the start — the victim identified only as Jane Doe — many wonder what that interest is.

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