Shoshone district sued over response to reported rape

The family of a former student has sued the Shoshone School District, saying administrators told the student to leave school after she reported a rape.

The Twin Falls Times-News reported Friday on the federal lawsuit, filed Dec. 27.

The lawsuit says the district’s response to the reported assault was “indifferent.” The district did not appropriately investigate, according to the lawsuit, and subjected the victim to a “hostile environment and sexual discrimination that denied her an education in the district.”

After the victim reported the assault, the family says the district presented the victim with two options: to simply leave Shoshone Middle School or choose home-schooling. The family opted for home-schooling, the Times-News reported, and has since moved to Gooding.

Shoshone district Superintendent Rob Waite told the Times-News that reports the district failed to investigate the assault are “just a one-sided story.” He told the Times-News that the district will present a “vigorous and detailed” legal response by Feb. 1.

The victim, then a 13-year-old student at Shoshone Middle School, reported that she was raped in a computer lab on April 24 and April 25 by a prominent athlete at Shoshone High School, the Times-News reported. The boy was charged as a juvenile; the Times-News reported that he pleaded guilty in November to multiple felony charges of lewd conduct with a child under 16.

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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