GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and the alleged victims are now in my kids class. this sucks for all involved. how do the recover from this. they are about to admit a new class and colleges are supposed to wonder which kids did this when they apply? this is not good.

Did you mean perpetrators? There was a single victim, who has left the school.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:How was the school newspaper allowed to publish this? Is there a faculty advisor that’s now in trouble with admin?

You are concerned about the truth going out???? not the victim

Of course I’m concerned about the victim and the truth. I’m asking with all the School’s effort to downplay or cover up that PPs allege, how would the student paper be allowed to publish this? There is typically at least one faculty advisor for school newspapers. Is that person in trouble now with admin?

Why would they be? They wrote a succinct account of two communications they had direct access to that day. They added zero speculation. If anything, they helped narrow possible speculation because it was already leaking beyond GDS and would continue to so (DCUM, Reddit).

Where has it been discussed on Reddit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The clearance rate for SA is very low. An allegation can be true and the police can decline to prosecute.

Single digits and that includes adult reported SAs.

[Anonymous]

60k more folks will become aware of the student news story here

https://x.com/PenguinSix/status/2023072218050343387

[Anonymous]

Child sexual abuse (CSA) cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute. Medical evidence is available in less than 5% of the reported cases of CSA and the prosecution often must rely on the testimony of a child.

https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/252768.pdf

[Anonymous]

I hope if anyone has information that they will come forward.

Was the younger child victim lured to that bathroom?

An assault could be quick, sodomy can happen with a finger or object. Between classes is not impossible. Medical masks are still common. Nothing about the details seems implausible to me.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:How was the school newspaper allowed to publish this? Is there a faculty advisor that’s now in trouble with admin?

You are concerned about the truth going out???? not the victim

Of course I’m concerned about the victim and the truth. I’m asking with all the School’s effort to downplay or cover up that PPs allege, how would the student paper be allowed to publish this? There is typically at least one faculty advisor for school newspapers. Is that person in trouble now with admin?

Why would they be? They wrote a succinct account of two communications they had direct access to that day. They added zero speculation. If anything, they helped narrow possible speculation because it was already leaking beyond GDS and would continue to so (DCUM, Reddit).

Where has it been discussed on Reddit?

Pp here, I said reddit because if for some reason it was completely shut down here, it would eventually make its way to Reddit. Meaning there are enough places on the Internet where it could/was going to be discussed.

[Anonymous]

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If the older boys thought about masking, then they probably did not leave other forms of evidence. And since the assault was months ago, what evidence could there be?

At this point, Met Police needs to clarify whether the allegations are credible or not, separate from whether they found evidence. If the allegations are credible, then the Head, who did not technically lie, must be brought to task for not taking this seriously enough. He's making it seem like the assault did not happen at all.

There are roughly 80 boys in 7th and 8th grade combined. Even if faces were covered, it seems that hair color, race, articles of clothing, make of sneakers, etc. are things that could have been noted. If so, it would significantly narrow the pool of suspects.

I have deep compassion for the victim and family. At the same time, I also understand how the school could not take action with out more proof. Would you want you your child to be expelled based on an allegation? The movie Atonement comes to mind. It seems the parents are trying to rectify this. As a parent, I would want to do everything to protect my child. This kind of incident also makes you wonder if someone else had abused the kid (trusted adult) and this was a way to process it without implicating a real perpetrator.

I suggested this exact thing upthread. We have no way of knowing. Someone betrayed this kid but we have no way of knowing who it was.

By not seeking information about the incident from the school community, and doing a sham investigation for only their own legal protection, perhaps the HOS betrayed this kid more than anyone else.

What evidence do you have that it was a sham investigation?

What evidence do you have that it was a legitimate investigation? It appears that nothing was done. Not even a basic request for info. Was anybody interviewed besides the victim?

+1 MPD just filed some paperwork, the CPD just made sure the kid was safe at home, and the independent investigation was just meant for the school to legally cover themselves.

What actual investigation occurred? Nothing was done. At all.

A few questions.

1) Who is CPD? Do you mean CPS? If so, CPS does not investigate same age SA, that is for MPD to investigate. CPS's entire responsibility it to address abuse or neglect by parents or caregivers, with the latter including school staff. Their role here would be to determine whether there was an issue of the school failure to protect, or of the parents somehow being involved (e.g. parents are encouraging kid to make false allegations, or parents are the actual abuser and kid is deflecting).

2) How do you know what MPD, and the independent investigators did or didn't do?

3) If it's true that MPD and the independent investigators (the people who were ethically required to investigate) didn't investigate, then why are you blaming the school?

Agree, the CPS was not going to be helpful here. If MDP has no clear leads, they move on. Their resources are limited. The independent investigator works for the school, for the benefit of the school. They are just legal protection.

What I do blame is the school for not allowing the parents to ask the school community for information to help the case. This could have been done a long time ago. Curious why they would have blocked this?

Because they were prohibited from investigating both by guidelines for ethical conduct and by the direct request of the MPD.

Sounds wrong. Any other ideas?

So, you think they should have disregarded MPD's directions, or impeded their directions? Do you think they were wrong to report to MPD?

It is common in criminal investigations to ask the public or a community for information that may help the case.

You have your facts wrong if you think the MPD would not allow this. It was the school that refused to assist in this.

MPD asks for help if there is evidence to pursue a case further. MPD doesn’t ask for the public’s help for every criminal complaint. There needs to be evidence to warrant public assistance.

In this case, credible testimony from a SA victim is a form of evidence that warrants this. Incredible that you do not think this case warrants public assistance.

Who else has characterized the complaint as credible aside from the family? Not MPD, not CPS, not an independent investigator. There has to be corroborating evidence that the assault happened at GDS by students. I feel terrible for the child and the family, and also believe that GDS has zero incentive to prevent an investigation that is necessary to keep its students safe.

An independent investigator hired by the school? I'm sure they hired T&M USA or Aleta law. Both firms have a history of distrubing conduct and minimizing SA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:60k more folks will become aware of the student news story here

https://x.com/PenguinSix/status/2023072218050343387

I have been on DCUM for a long time....PenguinSix??????!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

60k followers, reach a bit bigger than school paper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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If the older boys thought about masking, then they probably did not leave other forms of evidence. And since the assault was months ago, what evidence could there be?

At this point, Met Police needs to clarify whether the allegations are credible or not, separate from whether they found evidence. If the allegations are credible, then the Head, who did not technically lie, must be brought to task for not taking this seriously enough. He's making it seem like the assault did not happen at all.

There are roughly 80 boys in 7th and 8th grade combined. Even if faces were covered, it seems that hair color, race, articles of clothing, make of sneakers, etc. are things that could have been noted. If so, it would significantly narrow the pool of suspects.

I have deep compassion for the victim and family. At the same time, I also understand how the school could not take action with out more proof. Would you want you your child to be expelled based on an allegation? The movie Atonement comes to mind. It seems the parents are trying to rectify this. As a parent, I would want to do everything to protect my child. This kind of incident also makes you wonder if someone else had abused the kid (trusted adult) and this was a way to process it without implicating a real perpetrator.

I suggested this exact thing upthread. We have no way of knowing. Someone betrayed this kid but we have no way of knowing who it was.

By not seeking information about the incident from the school community, and doing a sham investigation for only their own legal protection, perhaps the HOS betrayed this kid more than anyone else.

What evidence do you have that it was a sham investigation?

What evidence do you have that it was a legitimate investigation? It appears that nothing was done. Not even a basic request for info. Was anybody interviewed besides the victim?

+1 MPD just filed some paperwork, the CPD just made sure the kid was safe at home, and the independent investigation was just meant for the school to legally cover themselves.

What actual investigation occurred? Nothing was done. At all.

A few questions.

1) Who is CPD? Do you mean CPS? If so, CPS does not investigate same age SA, that is for MPD to investigate. CPS's entire responsibility it to address abuse or neglect by parents or caregivers, with the latter including school staff. Their role here would be to determine whether there was an issue of the school failure to protect, or of the parents somehow being involved (e.g. parents are encouraging kid to make false allegations, or parents are the actual abuser and kid is deflecting).

2) How do you know what MPD, and the independent investigators did or didn't do?

3) If it's true that MPD and the independent investigators (the people who were ethically required to investigate) didn't investigate, then why are you blaming the school?

Agree, the CPS was not going to be helpful here. If MDP has no clear leads, they move on. Their resources are limited. The independent investigator works for the school, for the benefit of the school. They are just legal protection.

What I do blame is the school for not allowing the parents to ask the school community for information to help the case. This could have been done a long time ago. Curious why they would have blocked this?

Because they were prohibited from investigating both by guidelines for ethical conduct and by the direct request of the MPD.

Sounds wrong. Any other ideas?

So, you think they should have disregarded MPD's directions, or impeded their directions? Do you think they were wrong to report to MPD?

It is common in criminal investigations to ask the public or a community for information that may help the case.

You have your facts wrong if you think the MPD would not allow this. It was the school that refused to assist in this.

MPD asks for help if there is evidence to pursue a case further. MPD doesn’t ask for the public’s help for every criminal complaint. There needs to be evidence to warrant public assistance.

In this case, credible testimony from a SA victim is a form of evidence that warrants this. Incredible that you do not think this case warrants public assistance.

Who else has characterized the complaint as credible aside from the family? Not MPD, not CPS, not an independent investigator. There has to be corroborating evidence that the assault happened at GDS by students. I feel terrible for the child and the family, and also believe that GDS has zero incentive to prevent an investigation that is necessary to keep its students safe.

An independent investigator hired by the school? I'm sure they hired T&M USA or Aleta law. Both firms have a history of distrubing conduct and minimizing SA

I thought it said T&M upthread?

[Anonymous]

Former GDS parent here (2 children, K-12), who was deeply involved as a volunteer at the school. Also, I'm a former administrator of a DC public school. From the perspective of the former - MS leadership have the lead responsibility for this type of issue, clearly reporting to Russell, because it involves their student specifically. From the perspective of the latter, who has dealt with accusations against a teacher or student, MPD, CPS, staff, etc. have to follow specific protocols of mandatory reporting, investigation, and follow-up.

What I learned from 10 years as a school administrator is that DCUM is a wonderfully useful platform for sharing experiences, recommendations, ideas, etc. but, sadly, counterproductive for this type of issue. There is an inverse relationship between the number of postings and number of people posting. Essentially, it's an exchange between a relatively small number of people. That said, enjoy the exchanges for what they are but don't expect them to influence such a situation.

Above all, my heart breaks for the 11-year old child because, no matter what is true or not, they are a victim of something in some way.

[Anonymous]

Wait so the "independent investigator" they hired is from a firm that previously did work for Jeffrey Epstein? I would encourage everyone here to search for T&M USA in the Epstein files.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former GDS parent here (2 children, K-12), who was deeply involved as a volunteer at the school. Also, I'm a former administrator of a DC public school. From the perspective of the former - MS leadership have the lead responsibility for this type of issue, clearly reporting to Russell, because it involves their student specifically. From the perspective of the latter, who has dealt with accusations against a teacher or student, MPD, CPS, staff, etc. have to follow specific protocols of mandatory reporting, investigation, and follow-up.

What I learned from 10 years as a school administrator is that DCUM is a wonderfully useful platform for sharing experiences, recommendations, ideas, etc. but, sadly, counterproductive for this type of issue. There is an inverse relationship between the number of postings and number of people posting. Essentially, it's an exchange between a relatively small number of people. That said, enjoy the exchanges for what they are but don't expect them to influence such a situation.

Above all, my heart breaks for the 11-year old child because, no matter what is true or not, they are a victim of something in some way.

It’s only responses like this that I find immaterial.

Was the Board informed? I can’t believe there wasn’t a discussion on whether or how to release this information to parents in ES and MS. I also have to believe that at no point would it not have been useful to inform and engage the community.

If there were other victims, either before or after, they may have also left the school now. Teachers or students who maybe saw or heard something relevant may have left or forgotten.

By not making the information public the school also may have missed an opportunity to discuss its current setup and investigate avenues to greatly reduce interactions in the bathrooms between students in ES and MS or to increase supervision during periods when overlap is most likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:60k more folks will become aware of the student news story here

https://x.com/PenguinSix/status/2023072218050343387

I have been on DCUM for a long time....PenguinSix??????!!!!!!

LOL. That's what I was thinking. I haven't seen his name in a loooong time.