Parents of students at Montebello schools are enraged, claiming their children have been bullied and sexually assaulted by classmates while school officials have not done anything to address the problem.
Some parents said the issues are a district-wide problem that has affected more children who have yet to come forward. They claim district officials are not properly investigating their troubling claims.
A parent named Emily said her 10-year-old daughter, who attends Washington Elementary, was groped by a classmate and kicked in the groin during two separate incidents in February.
Emily said she never knew about the incidents until days later when her daughter began complaining of bladder pain.
“I’ve had to remove her,” Emily said of her daughter. “She’s now on independent studies. Because of the severity of what’s going on, she’s now in therapy.”
The 10-year-old girl, who was not identified, recalled the violent confrontation.
“She kicked me down there and I was in the ER,” the girl said. “She told me I should make myself go away, like kill myself.”
Emily said the school failed to keep her daughter safe from incessant bullying and has not taken her complaints seriously.
“They’re trying to sweep this under the rug,” Emily said. “There are numerous other parents within the community who have come forward to tell their child’s story and truth.”
Another Montebello parent named Leslie said she transferred her son to another school after he was told to pull his pants down by another student.
“The principal had a restroom buddy system and I brought a restroom buddy,” the young boy recalled. “Then, he was trying to sexually harass me. He told me to pull my pants down or like he [would] hit me.”
“What the district has broken in my child cannot be fixed,” said Leslie. “But this is to bring awareness to other families. It’s not okay.”
The Montebello Unified School District said they respond seriously to every reported act of misconduct, addressing the allegations in a statement saying:
“The MUSD Police Services Department initiated an investigation, and the investigation has concluded. MUSD deems the complaints now closed as the matters alleged were thoroughly and properly investigated, and same has been communicated in writing to the subject parent.”
Parents whose children were affected, however, said that statement is not enough.
Some parents were seen demonstrating outside the Montebello Unified School District building on Wednesday night. They said they will continue speaking out until more actions are taken by district officials to address the alleged bullying and sexual assault.
“I want the other students and victims to know that they’re not alone,” Emily said while holding a protest sign outside the district building.
The parents whose children were targeted said they’ve also reported the incidents to local law enforcement which is investigating the cases.