CLEVELAND — The parents of a Black River High School student have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cleveland charging officials from two districts with failing to protect their daughter from being sexually assaulted at a track meet.
The story was first reported by Adam Ferrise of The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com.
According to the nine-page lawsuit that was filed on Monday, the girl was a freshman at Black River on April 29, 2022, when the school's track and field team took part in the Mapleton Night Invitational hosted at Mapleton High School in Ashland.
The suit says that in lieu of locker rooms, the team was instructed to set up tents "outside of and surrounding the track." The tents were located "away from the competition, in an area with no supervision or other security, and minimal lighting," the lawsuit added.
According to the plaintiffs, as the track meet was coming to a close, the victim was told to go to Black River's tent and change out of her wet track uniform. She was not provided with an escort or any other security measure.
As she walked into Black River's tent, the victim was followed by two male students from another district who came in and sexually assaulted her. "Despite (her) screams for help, no once came to her rescue," the lawsuit added.
"The lack of lighting created a defect on the physical grounds of Mapleton," the lawsuit also states, adding that the defect and the resulting injury to the victim would prevent the defendants from claiming immunity to lawsuits afforded to government entities.
The plaintiffs are being represented by attorneys Eric Long and Tyler Walchanowicz of Cleveland-based Friedman Nemecek Long & Grant, L.L.C. The list of defendants include both Black River and Mapleton school districts and boards of education, Mapleton's superintendent and principal, Black River's athletic director and track coach, and others.
According to Ferrise, a message was left with Mapleton superintendent Scott Smith. Black River superintendent Chris Clark said he couldn’t comment because he hadn’t seen the lawsuit.
More from 3News:
- Case Western Reserve University says protest amid Israel-Hamas war 'no longer approved'
- President Joe Biden approves Ohio disaster declaration after March deadly tornadoes that impacted 11 counties
- 'George Floyd 2.0': Family of Frank E. Tyson, attorney Ben Crump speak out after body camera video released of his death in Canton police custody
