Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:15
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The article does not say it happened between classes. Please stop repeating that.
It could have happened anytime. Lunch. Before or after school. Who knows? Please stick to the facts.
The email from the parents says “between classes, during a regular school day.”
It is highly inappropriate for people to speculate or cast aspersions here, especially those who have not even seen the underlying emails.
GDS has had many bathroom incidents where students were ambushed in the bathroom. This is NOT NEW. THEY have the records at school that students were ambushed
That is a different twist on things.
wait really? I've been a parent for 10+ years here and have not heard that. Have had plenty of bad interctions w/ the school on their discipline process esp in high school. I"m sick and tired of this school and glad we are soon done
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:13
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Well, clearly GDS wants to avoid any liability so it’s clear why are doing that .
If GDS really wanted to avoid liability, they would have expelled the students who present a real harm to other students. There's no reason for GDS to keep students who so violently assaulted another child. Even assuming that the alleged perpetrators are "connected" or have parents who are significant donors, the threat of future harm, especially knowing that the students have a record of assault, is so great that the risk to the school's reputation and the cost of a lawsuit would outweigh the benefits of keeping those students at GDS. (Not to mention GDS has enough wealthy and connected families that losing one or two would not be terribly detrimental to the school.) Security at the school is tight. No one enters without passing through two sets of doors and security (at least one of whom is recently retired MPD) at the front desk. The design of the grade-level floors is such that bathrooms are not hidden in some corridor; they are right off the hallway and surrounded by classrooms. People would see you enter and leave the bathroom. Perhaps the alleged student perpetrators were eventually counseled out. Who knows? But without sufficient evidence, the school is limited in its public response.
I feel horrible for the family and the distress that they are feeling. I am sure that something awful happened to their child, but it's not clear exactly what based upon the available corroborating evidence.
As for Russell, he's been a great HOS. Yes, there are some things that he could have handled differently, but none of the events that people like to bring up was "easy" (COVID, Oct. 7) and *any* response to those events would have been sure to piss off one contingent of the GDS regardless.
What if it didn't actually happen? How would you feel if your kid was expelled and accused of something horrific, but it turned out not to be true? Presumably, the accused have not done anything to cause problems since the alleged incident, so they have not presented a real harm to other students.
I'm not saying that it did or did not happen, but any sweeping action that assumes that the account is correct directly impacts those accused. While I believe people who have been exposed to trauma, I also believe that those who are accused of a crime have the right to be assumed innocent without evidence proving otherwise. It doesn't make it right or easy but it is our system. And no, I don't think that the threshold for a school to take action should be so low that they expel students without compelling evidence of guilt.
To be clear, I'm not saying that the school should have expelled the students without sufficient evidence. I'm saying that if the school did have evidence, the school would have expelled the students. As for the family's request to warn other GDS families, the question remains as to why. Is the family concerned that the alleged perpetrators are still at the school? What would warning GDS families accomplish exactly? What should kids be on alert for that is so unique to GDS that warrants a special warning about assault in the bathroom?
I wonder if the family is also hoping that someone else in the community knows something, and that's why they are spreading the word. If a major crime occurred, I'm sure the whole family will do anything they can to find out who did it and make sure they are punished.
The family's letter asked the community for help for any adults or kids who know anything to step forward and call the detectives or the family's lawyer. They said they have been negotiating with the school for a year to send this same email and the school refused.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:10
Subject: Re:GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You are concerned about the truth going out???? not the victimAnonymous wrote:How was the school newspaper allowed to publish this? Is there a faculty advisor that’s now in trouble with admin?
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).
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:09
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
The goal of the family was clearly to wreck havoc on the school especially given the timing. It was completely inappropriate to send that email directly to current students sharing that level of detail in the middle of their school day. Parents should be able to navigate those conversations with their children. Asking Middle Schoolers if they remember anything unusual about a day from November of 2024 through a blast email unlikely to yield meaningful information.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:08
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
I am curious about the mask/voice altering situation. The voice alteration seems particularly interesting - because how would that actually work?
It is very possible that this happened and the kids were not in disguise and the victim knows exactly who it was but is still too frightened to say.
It is very possible that this happened and the kids were not in disguise and the victim knows exactly who it was but is still too frightened to say.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:04
Subject: Re:GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:You are concerned about the truth going out???? not the victimAnonymous wrote:How was the school newspaper allowed to publish this? Is there a faculty advisor that’s now in trouble with admin?
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?
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:02
Subject: Re:GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:How was the school newspaper allowed to publish this? Is there a faculty advisor that’s now in trouble with admin?
Help me understand why a student newspaper shouldn’t publish a factual account of the situation surrounding what is perhaps the most significant disturbing event to have happened at the school during their tenure?
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:51
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote: public link https://theaugurbit.com/2026/02/12/developing-family-alleges-child-raped-at-lower-middle-school/
it is not a horrible incident, it is a crime
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:49
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don't think we should be discussing this as no one here knows the details.
A case like this could be 2 sick teens who raped a kid and it could also be an 11 yr old who was previously abused by a baby sitter or neighbor (and told no one) and is now making a scenario up about masked kids at school as he continues to processes the pain and fear. Crazier things have happened. I mean none of us know.
There is zero way of knowing.
THIS. I don't know why more people aren't concerned that this child has other clear trauma that should be addressed.
Why is it so hard for people to believe victims? I have an 11 year old son. If he told me this had happened I would believe him 100%. I don’t think most 11 year olds would make something like this up, even as a cover for other abuse. They are old enough to explain exactly what happened and should be believed when they do.
100%%%%%%% let's believe this boy. And create a culture - across schools- where there is a safe space where people to come forward --
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:47
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don't think we should be discussing this as no one here knows the details.
A case like this could be 2 sick teens who raped a kid and it could also be an 11 yr old who was previously abused by a baby sitter or neighbor (and told no one) and is now making a scenario up about masked kids at school as he continues to processes the pain and fear. Crazier things have happened. I mean none of us know.
There is zero way of knowing.
THIS. I don't know why more people aren't concerned that this child has other clear trauma that should be addressed.
Why is it so hard for people to believe victims? I have an 11 year old son. If he told me this had happened I would believe him 100%. I don’t think most 11 year olds would make something like this up, even as a cover for other abuse. They are old enough to explain exactly what happened and should be believed when they do.
There is an important difference between believing the victim and the actions to follow. I believe that the victim was traumatized, but I also believe that there is not sufficient evidence for the school to take action beyond offering counseling and care to the victim and his family. This is a super serious allegation and without compelling evidence beyond testimony that cannot be corroborated (as far as we know at this point), GDS is limited in what it can do.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:47
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
The parents’ email said it happened in 7th/8th grade bathroom. The alleged victim was in a lower grade at the time so since he wasn’t even supposed to be in that bathroom, it is unreasonable to think it was planned specifically for him. My guess is the two older middle schoolers went to the bathroom and meant it as a prank on whoever was there. It escalated and something happened. What exactly is really complicated since the alleged victim didn’t share even with his family until two months later hence no evidence. I believe something bad happened. But if it was at the level what is alleged all 3 (the alleged victim and the alleged 2 perpetrators) would have done or said something to give it away that day or following few days.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:37
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don't think we should be discussing this as no one here knows the details.
A case like this could be 2 sick teens who raped a kid and it could also be an 11 yr old who was previously abused by a baby sitter or neighbor (and told no one) and is now making a scenario up about masked kids at school as he continues to processes the pain and fear. Crazier things have happened. I mean none of us know.
There is zero way of knowing.
THIS. I don't know why more people aren't concerned that this child has other clear trauma that should be addressed.
Why is it so hard for people to believe victims? I have an 11 year old son. If he told me this had happened I would believe him 100%. I don’t think most 11 year olds would make something like this up, even as a cover for other abuse. They are old enough to explain exactly what happened and should be believed when they do.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:27
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
YOU ARE THE PARENT IN THE CHAT THAT IS SPREADING THIS ABOUT THE VICTIM; JOAnonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don't think we should be discussing this as no one here knows the details.
A case like this could be 2 sick teens who raped a kid and it could also be an 11 yr old who was previously abused by a baby sitter or neighbor (and told no one) and is now making a scenario up about masked kids at school as he continues to processes the pain and fear. Crazier things have happened. I mean none of us know.
There is zero way of knowing.
THIS. I don't know why more people aren't concerned that this child has other clear trauma that should be addressed.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:25
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:I don't think we should be discussing this as no one here knows the details.
A case like this could be 2 sick teens who raped a kid and it could also be an 11 yr old who was previously abused by a baby sitter or neighbor (and told no one) and is now making a scenario up about masked kids at school as he continues to processes the pain and fear. Crazier things have happened. I mean none of us know.
There is zero way of knowing.
THIS. I don't know why more people aren't concerned that this child has other clear trauma that should be addressed.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:24
Subject: GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The article does not say it happened between classes. Please stop repeating that.
It could have happened anytime. Lunch. Before or after school. Who knows? Please stick to the facts.
The email from the parents says “between classes, during a regular school day.”
It is highly inappropriate for people to speculate or cast aspersions here, especially those who have not even seen the underlying emails.
GDS has had many bathroom incidents where students were ambushed in the bathroom. This is NOT NEW. THEY have the records at school that students were ambushed
That is a different twist on things.