New York City has paid out $200,000 to a female student who was sexually assaulted at her public school — in an assault that was videotaped and posted on social media by two of her teenage attackers.
Administrators continued not to punish the group of boys, a now-settled civil suit declared — adding to the already “dangerous environment” allegedly present at the school.
The lawsuit named Marlon Bynum, the principal of East New York’s High School for Transit Technology, and Janice Ross, superintendent of the Brooklyn North district, saying administrators were aware of the incident, or other similar events.
The suit also cites a ‘climate of harassment’ that paved the way for the previously unreported assault – which occurred on October 21, 2021 as the girl walked to class through an isolated staircase.
The girl, who was either 13 or 14, immediately reported the attack, saying one boy ‘pressed’ her head onto another boy to perform oral sex, while a third recorded it and posted it on platforms including TikTok and Snapchat posted.
New York City has paid out $200,000 to a female student who was sexually assaulted at Transit Tech High School in East New York (seen here) — in a 2021 assault recorded on video and posted on social media by her two attackers media has been placed.
The girl’s mother claimed principal Marlon Bynum (pictured) told her of the attackers the day after the attack: ‘kids are kids’ – before allowing them to continue as students unpunished
The NYPD then arrested two boys, charging one with sexual assault and the other with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor — but the charges were dropped a week later after the local DA’s office declined to prosecute.
The office, chaired by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, does not comment on juvenile cases — and it remains unclear why the cases never made it to court.
A DOE report on the incident – the first time through The New York Post – notes that “video footage is available,” but the girl’s lawyer, personal injury attorney Kevin Mosley, claims the school deleted the surveillance tape before he could get it.
He and the girl’s parents, who have since transferred their daughter to another school, claimed Saturday that the school engaged in a cover-up — one that allowed the two unnamed students to continue at Transit Tech with impunity.
In fact, when the girl spoke to the newspaper on Saturday – two months after the city agreed to light the plum settlement – the girl’s mother claimed the principal told her about the attackers the day after the assault : ‘children are children’.
She also said that about a week after the assault, she received an unsigned email from the DOE stating that after an investigation, officials believed the boys’ “behavior” did not violate laws prohibiting harassment not – despite the series of charges they were hit with. .
Mosley claimed a conspiracy, telling The Post that “authorities did not take (the child’s claims) seriously” and that “the cover-up is beyond belief” – with the girl, now 15, set to receive $132,170 after legal fees. she is turning 18.
Still, even with that money, the girl’s mother said Saturday that the damage had been done — and that “no amount of money will compensate (her) daughter for what she had to go through, and continues to go through, as a victim of sexual assault .’
Since the case was settled, the suit also named Brooklyn North Superintendent Janice Ross (pictured) as a defendant, claiming she was aware of similar incidents occurring in her school system
The suit further cites a ‘climate of harassment’ that paved the way for the previously unreported assault on October 21, 2021 – which happened as the girl walked to class through an isolated staircase. A shot of the East New York public school is shown here
The NYPD initially arrested the boys and charged one with sexual assault and the other with offensive display, a misdemeanor — but the charges were dropped after local DA Erik Gonzalez (seen here) declined to prosecute. His office does not comment on juvenile cases
In her lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, she claimed Bynum and others at the school were “aware that female students were routinely harassed and abused and that sexual activity was occurring within the school.”
It also alleges school administrators fueled the ‘dangerous environment’ at the school of 797 students by (turning) their backs on this vulnerable student, encouraging (her) to leave the school’ while her attackers remained at Transit.
“School officials simply threw up their hands and turned their backs … (and) created a dangerous school environment that condoned sexual abuse and harassment.”
It added that both Bynum and Ross were “aware that female students were regularly harassed and subjected to abuse and that sexual activity was taking place within the school … particularly by a group of offenders who were allowed to engage in similar despicable behavior without effective reprimand or discipline.’
The Post withheld the girl’s name to protect her privacy, and the case revealed that she has since transferred to another school ‘out of fear for her own safety’.
It claimed she suffered physically and emotionally as a result of the incident – which also affected her studies, causing both her attendance and grades to drop that year. It also said she needed counseling afterward to navigate the trauma.
When asked about the settlement, a spokesperson for the city law department said the ‘settlement is in the best interest of the parties’.
Meanwhile, state data shows that two sexual offenses and one assault occurred at the school during the school year when the assault occurred.
The statistics also show 14 cases of discrimination, intimidation, defiance, harassment or bullying, and 12 of drug possession or sales.