3 Brooklyn Schools Further Endangered Sex Assault Victims: Reports

• Pictured: Teachers Prep in Bed-Stuy. Image via Google Maps

BROOKLYN, NY — Schools in Spring Creek, Bed-Stuy, and Weeksville allegedly failed to properly protect young female victims of recent sexual assaults, according to a New York Times report.

The accusation was most recently made in two complaints filed this month with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Brooklyn attorney Carrie Goldberg, a sexual assault specialist, filed the complaints, the paper reports.

The Times obtained access to the complaints, which informed its reporting. Patch requested the complaints Wednesday, and will update this story when they are received.

According to the Times, the first complaint states that in February, a 15-year-old girl with an intellectual disability at Teachers Preparatory High School in Bed-Stuy was suspended for a week after reporting that two boys assaulted her in a stairwell while a group watched.

An assistant principal allegedly concluded the girl had engaged in consensual sex, a violation of school rules.

A second compliant reportedly states that a 13-year-old at MS 584 in Weeksville was not separated from a boy who last November punched her in the genitals and simulated sex on top of her — even though the students shared six classes.

The boy was suspended for a month, but when he returned, the girl became too afraid to attend school. She waited seven weeks for a safety transfer, which has put her in danger of being held back a grade.

Goldberg reportedly filed a third complaint last November alleging a similar story, this time involving a 13-year-old student at Spring Creek Community School in Spring Creek.

As previously reported by Buzzfeed, the girl's alleged assailant filmed himself sexually assaulting her, after which he disseminated the video widely.

But the first administrator whom the girl told about the attack didn't take action, while a second asked why she hand't fought the boy off, the site reports.

The girl was then allegedly sent home indefinitely while Spring Creek said it was arranging a safety transfer.

However, Buzzfeed reports that the school didn't transfer her, leaving the process up to her mother. The student reportedly wasn't enrolled in a new school for a month.

According to the Times, the OCR is currently investigating Spring Creek's actions. The agency did not return a call Wednesday for comment.

All three alleged victims are black. The Times reports that Goldberg, the attorney behind the complaints, has said the incidents collectively represent, in the paper's words, "a pattern within the city’s Education Department of indifference to the needs of black victims of sexual assault."

In her most recent complaints, Goldberg has called for a federal investigation into the city's handling of sexual assaults, as well as the release of data on the number of cases reported, the outcomes of investigations into them, and the number of student victims transferred, the paper says.

In a statement, Toya Holness, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Education, said the agency's "legal team is reviewing these deeply troubling complaints and will respond to the Office for Civil Rights regarding any pending matters."

"Nothing is more important than the safety of all students and staff, and we have policies in place that ensure that incidents are reported, investigated and appropriately addressed," Holness said.

On Wednesday, a staffer wtih Spring Creek deffered a request for comment to the city's education department.

A message left for Teachers Prep wasn't immediately returned, while staffers with MS 584 couldn't immediately be reached for comment.