A lawsuit brought by the mother of a Brentwood Academy student alleges her sixth-grade son was repeatedly raped by an eighth-grade boy and that the school tried to cover it up.
Brentwood Academy is a private, Christian school outside Nashville, Tennessee, attended by many children of musicians, politicians, and executives in the area. The school has 71 state athletic championships and a dozen alumni who have gone to the NFL.
The $30 million lawsuit did not give names to protect the children, who are now 14 and 16 or 17, The Washington Post reported. The suit claims that during the 2014-2015 academic year, the sixth grader was raped at least five times by one eighth-grade student, and that three other eighth graders held him down or blocked the door while the assaults took place.
The victim’s mother and her son filed the suit Aug. 4 and allege that headmaster Curt Masters told the victim to “turn the other cheek” and that “everything in God’s kingdom happens for a reason,” The Tennessean reported. Several other staff members were aware of the four students’ aggressive bullying prior to the rapes but did not take action against them, the suit says.
The lawsuit also alleges that Christian counseling organization Daystar, to which the alleged rapes were eventually reported, did not report them to the proper authorities in a timely manner and encouraged the victim’s mother not to report them, as well, the Post reported.
The Brentwood Academy has denied any wrongdoing and plans to vigorously defend itself against the allegations, saying that it never heard about any rapes in 2015. Daystar also denied wrongdoing and said it reported the allegations appropriately, The Tennessean reported.
Two of the students allegedly involved in the attacks were expelled by the school and two more were otherwise disciplined, the Post reported.
The police department opened a criminal investigation into the allegations in April 2015, but no charges have been filed and the case remains open.
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