Attitudes have surely changed towards sexual assault and the victims of such assaults. This is a good thing, which makes statements like this all the more repugnant:
The parents of a severely disabled woman suing a Colorado Springs school district over a sexual assault at a high school said the district has refused to mediate a civil lawsuit as one of its experts called the attack “pleasurable” for the woman.
Kalie McArthur, now 20 and with an IQ of about 50, was assaulted in September 2004 at Rampart High School by a 15-year-old boy assigned as a peer trainer, said Jeff Weeks, an attorney for the girl and her parents.
The boy, who had been suspended 20 times in the previous year and had a 0.0 grade point average, wasn’t screened or trained and spent an unknown amount of time with McArthur, her parents, Cindy Starr and James McArthur said.
“A professional hired by the district said the assault was pleasurable, not traumatic,” said Starr. “He said it ignited her female desires.”
(Emphasis mine)
The district is going to regret not solving this in mediation, thereby assuring a lot less negative publicity. And not only do I think they will regret rejecting mediation, I think they will regret hiring this dumbass “expert”, whose misogynistic, medieval statements will be broadcast far and wide. As it should be, because attitudes like this -especially concerning sexual assaults on disabled persons- are disgustingly outdated. People bitch about those who run public schools- well, see your tax dollars at work, Coloradans.
Technorati Tags: sexual assault, victims, Colorado Springs, school district
Yeah. A professional what?
Doesn’t know a damned thing about rape, obviously.
Not to mention he lacks experience in the fine art of waiting until the sealed-from-the-public deposition to utter such nonsense.
Dear God! That comment is wrong on so many levels. What kind of “teaching” did they think that a peer trainer wtih a 0.0 GPA could do? The absurdity of the act and the comment by the “professional” leave me flabbergasted.
Exactly. I don’t even know where to start with the assignation of this screw up to a vulnerable girl. I sincerely hope a number of heads roll -and in a very high profile way- because their actions are utterly unforgivable.
How in the world can a student with a 0.0 GPA and a plethora of suspensions be allowed to remain in school? And to allow this freak to be a peer trainer?!! The principal needs to be sacked and put in jail for criminal negligence.
I agree, Ben, I agree. Everyone who was involved in this situation needs to be fired. Because this was a time-bomb waiting to explode, and a plainly easy to see one, at that. No excuse.