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12-year-old girl says she was sexually harassed by another student at Northwest Christian

Her family said the school not only knew what happened, but did not do anything about it. Now, they said the school will not allow the girl to come back to class

SPOKANE, Wash. – A 12-year-old Spokane girl has been out of school for more than a month after she said she was sexually harassed by a fellow student at Northwest Christian School.

Her family said the school not only knew what happened, but did not do anything about it. Now, they said the school will not allow the girl to come back to class. KREM 2 is not naming the girl or her parents because she is a possible victim of sexual harassment.

“It's kind of a shame that it came to this,” Attorney Matt Albrecht said. “Children shouldn't have to be going to school scared.”

His newest client is a 12-year old girl who has been a student at Northwest Christian School in Colbert for the last two years. We will call her 'A'. She said she likes her school and her friends, except for two boys, who she said have been harassing her, we will refer to them as ‘Boy 1’ and ‘Boy 2.’ She said ‘Boy 1’ has been picking on her since 2017.

“He dropped books on my head, and slammed my hand in the locker, and hid my stuff from my backpack around the classroom,” ‘A’ said.

Then, at the end of March, she said ‘Boy 2’ touched her inappropriately, in the middle of choir class, when the lights were turned off as the sixth graders were watching "The Sound of Music."

KREM 2 sat down with ‘A‘ at Albrecht's law office, her mom sat with us and gave her daughter permission to tell us what happened.

“He put his foot on my knee and inner thigh, and was moving it up and down approximately 10 times. And I told him to stop and smacked his foot away,” she said. “After class, I told my next class's teacher.”

‘A’ said the teacher told her she would talk to ‘Boy 2’ but she does not know if the teacher did. She also said nothing came of what she told the teacher and no one from the school ever came to her to try to understand more about what happened.

A few weeks later, 'A' said the same ‘Boy 2’ approached her again when they were alone behind the drama stage. Her family asked the Spokane County Sheriff's Office to investigate and also filed for a protection order against the boys. In that court petition, 'A' said ‘Boy 2’ asked her to take a ride in his white van with tinted windows, then made sexual gestures at her. 'A' stated that she was scared and left to tell a teacher. She said the teacher told ‘Boy 2’ to stay away from the girls. Court declarations from the boy's family show he denies all of it, saying that he never touched her thigh, did not say anything about a white van and did not make sexual gestures. He goes on to say that what 'A' has been saying about him makes him really nervous and scared and that he has nightmares about going to jail.

On April 11, just after spring break, 'A' texted her mom from class to come get her. That would end up being her last day of school at Northwest Christian.

The family said they tried to have sit down meetings with school administrators and the boys' parents. They said the school would not set it up. That is when they decided to pursue protection orders against ‘Boy 1’ and ‘Boy 2.’ Just last week, there was a hearing. The judge in Spokane Superior Court listened to testimony from both sides and then granted those protection orders for one year. It means the boys are not allowed to have any contact with 'A' of any kind.

“Today was one of the good days, where you get to see a court step in as a last resort,” Albrecht said.

Albrecht said the family wanted to resolve the issue without going to court, while Northwest Christian insists it did nothing wrong. In fact, school administrators said 'A's' mom has sparked such a controversy online that some parents felt threatened by her behavior and her statements. It caused the school to active a modified lockdown one day in early May.

School administrators sent KREM 2 a statement saying, "Our primary objective is to create a safe and nurturing learning environment." They said, in this particular incident between 'A' and ‘Boy 2,’ they followed their student handbook regarding bullying and harassment. The school policy reads that "bullying is never acceptable," and that "staff are committed to prevent bullying and mentor students while holding them accountable for their actions." It adds that "students and parents are encouraged to report problems to teachers or administrators" and that any "harassment will result in major disciplinary action."

KREM asked school officials if they think they did enough after that original incident in choir class? To that, the school said, "no comment." Then we asked if 'A' could come back to school to finish out the year. School administrators said 'A's' mom indicated on multiple occasions that she would not be coming back. So, they withdrew her. 'A's' mother said she never completed the official withdrawal paperwork. It was never signed or submitted, so she believes 'A' should still be considered a student. ‘A’ said she still wants to go back.

“Now that I know they are going to get off my back, it will be like I have the space to learn and go to school like a normal kid should. And be able to go there without being messed with,” she said.

In a declaration to the court, 'A' said she does not want to be in a room alone with ‘Boy 2’ and that what the school has done so far has not stopped him. She also stated that she does want to come back to school with her friends. However, an email from the school's attorney said, since 'A' is no longer a student at Northwest Christian she and her family are not allowed to enter the campus.

KREM 2 asked the school, is that standard procedure for all families who stop attending there? Or just 'A' and her family? The school again said, "no comment."

"There is a sense of secrecy that is really disappointing,” Albrecht said. “When somebody's child has been bullied or assaulted, if there's a dark theatre, and a young girl has had a boy rubbing part of his body against her thigh after she's saying stop it, um, it is astonishing to me that the first phone call is not to that girl's parents.”

“If you were in a workplace, would it be okay for somebody to do these things to you? And if it's not, why are we not teaching our children that they should be giving the same respect each one of us would ask for,” he said.

KREM 2 talked to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office. They said the investigation is still ongoing. But at this point, it does not seem like the actions by any of the boys rise to the level of a crime. As of right now, 'A' is being home schooled. Northwest Christian leaders said she is welcome to reapply for admission in the fall. But when KREM 2 asked if there was any way for her to come back for these last few weeks of school, we were told no, that her status as a student was going to stay "withdrawn."

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