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While things that happen between consenting adults in Las Vegas are par for the course, a recent news story has raised serious questions about other venues where the Las Vegas motto may apply. It seems that it’s a free-for-all on public school buses and vans, just like in Las Vegas, except that these are our children and the acts can be far from consensual. In Ohio, a seven-year-old girl was repeatedly molested, raped and sodomized over a period of at least a year and a half. This is an accepted fact by the court because the emotionally disturbed 16-year-old boy who sexually assaulted the little girl on a special education school van gave a full confession to the police. His confession correlates with what the child reported to her mother, and what her mother reported to the school and the police. He also did not attempt to defend himself in a civil lawsuit brought against him by the victim’s mother. However, prosecuting the rapist in this case doesn’t go very far in protecting this child and others from sexual predators on school buses. In this case, the school district and the driver of the van do not admit that the sexual attacks even happened. From the driver’s seat of the special education van, the driver cannot see what goes on at the back benches of the 7-passenger van. Since he did not see the attacks, he says that they never happened and that the sexual attacks that the 7-year-old described, and that the 16-year-old confessed to, are the product of the little girl’s imagination. The school district takes the same stance on the issue and stands firm on their position that the child was not raped on the school’s special education van although the 16-year-old has a lengthy rap sheet and school disciplinary record. To add insult to injury, the mother’s attempt to sue the school district on behalf of her child has failed. A rational person might think and believe that when a child is on a school bus or van, that the school has a duty to protect that child. With this case, we find that is not the case and that the school, by virtue of being a government entity, is immune from liability. Rather than being held to a higher standard, government agencies are instead protected by sovereign immunity. Initially, a judge in Stark County, Ohio ruled that a jury should hear the case to decide if the school district was negligent. The district, of course, appealed that decision. The Ohio Court of Appeals recently ruled that the child who was raped has no right to sue the school district. Several courts in Ohio have previously ruled that the operation of school vehicles does not involve protecting the children from harm, including sexual assaults. Now the child and her mother are waiting to see if the Ohio Supreme Court will hear the case. Although the school district denies that the sexual assaults ever happened, that is not the issue at stake. The real issue is whether or not the school district has a responsibility to ensure the safety of students who rely on transportation provided by the schools. Ohio courts have repeatedly protected the schools by ruling that they do not have a duty to protect students while they are being transported on school buses and vans. So, unless the Ohio Supreme Court decides otherwise, what happens on school vehicles is of no concern to the school districts. After all, why should they be concerned when the courts say that they aren’t liable? Fox News has the only report of this story that we have found. The YouTube video can be found here: 7 Year Old Raped On Special Needs School Van
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Comments (31)
  written by bwolper, March 25, 2008
I have not seen anything about this story in any papers from anywhere. I would love to know more details of this case. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
 written by Gerri - Author, March 25, 2008
Hi Bwolper,
I had thought we would see more about this story on national news, but so far I have only seen the Fox News report. Here is a YouTube link of the story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR0FRHd62GU
 written by Angel, March 25, 2008
This is just outrageous, and I can't believe that it hasn't received more attention in the media. It does amaze me how much violence and crime happens on our children's busses, much of it videotaped, and yet nothing is ever done about it.
 written by Steve Phillips, March 26, 2008
You know, as a Las Vegas native and resident, I'm kinda offended by the start of this article. You make it sound like my home is the land of rape and violence. A marketing slogan trying to apply to a tiny section of the city shouldn't be used to link a city of 2 million people to a crime halfway across the country.
 written by apalled, March 26, 2008
So because of this ruling, the Ohio State Court of Appeals will allow the school district the benefit of not having to be responsible for students to carry and store guns, drugs, and other illegal paraphanelia on buses...Eventually, this ruling will come back and someone will find that since school districts are responsible for hiring buses/bus drivers, they will have to be responsible for the actions of children/persons within these buses. At least, I would hope someone with some sense could come to this reasoning.
 written by Eathan, March 26, 2008
Wow...I can't believe I haven't heard about this before. I'd like to see the national media pick up this story.
 written by anon, March 27, 2008
Press charges against the kid, not the school, how hard is that? Your lack of logic amazes me.
 written by L. L. Woodard, March 27, 2008
While I don't understand why charges weren't pressed against the 16 year-old who confessed to these illegal acts, and even as heinous as they were, the bigger issue is that schools are disavowing children's safety on the public school buses. Ohioans--write your legislators, letters to the editor, and make sure everyone you know is aware of the news in this article so they can do the same.
Nothing will change until we let our elected officials know in no uncertain terms that we will not accept the status quo.
 written by greg, March 27, 2008
The loss of responsibility for behaviors and actions of those who have been trusted to protect and represent us has become, well non existant! From local to federal Government our rights have been reduced to allowing the continued rape of a child, was there a Van driver and what was that idiot doing, WATCHING!!!!, afraid to get involved? fear of law suite? How is something like this even possible!!!!!!And I saw the familly trees of all the dummies running for president but nothing on this????!!
 written by Michael, March 27, 2008
@anon, L.L Woodard
"He also did not attempt to defend himself in a civil lawsuit brought against him by the victim’s mother."
 written by Mark Jacobs, March 27, 2008
The beginning of this article sounds like it was written by somebody who clearly has never been to Las Vegas and doesn't understand the city's campaign slogan. Gerri, the next time you try to write an article, it'd be best to make an introduction that makes sense and is relevant to the real topic at hand.
 written by Tiffany, March 27, 2008
I get that you guys feel that Vegas is being maligned, but can we focus? It's an old saying that's been part of a lot of jokes and intimations for a lot longer than this site has even been in existence...the point here is a little more significant than whether or not a popular reference is denigrating to a chunk of land.
 written by Luke, March 27, 2008
Ok the content of the news story is good but was a drop intro really that appropriate for a hard news story like this. Surely it would have been better to begin with 'In Ohio, a seven-year-old girl was repeatedly molested, raped and sodomized over a period of at least a year and a half.' Starting there would have made a much better article and if you really wanted to include the Las Vegas bit that should have been at the bottom.
Back on topic I'm suprised the bus driver never noticed what was going though I suspect they did and they are merely covering their and their employers back.
 written by cynapse, March 27, 2008
I'm sorry this is why the majority of the US are clean stupid. SUE THE SCHOOL?!?!? It was clearly not the schools fault that this person was there on the bus. They cannot be held responsible for not pre-emptively dis-allowing this person to be on the bus becuase they thought he might rape! hell his parents would sue them at the very thought of this! What has happened here is tragic and I sincerely hope justice is brought. But NOT against the school. It isn't their fault that they allowed a student who became a rapist in. I hope justice is brought against the person who committed the crime. Every single bad person started somewhere. No matter where they showed how evil they can be, this doesn't mean take it out on the people that allowed them the liberty of showing it. Stop being so fecking stoopid.
written by Tiffany, March 27, 2008
I can't imagine that anyone would ever suggest that the school should have guessed that the boy was a rapist and not let him on the bus--although depending upon the nature of his special needs, it may have been inappropriate to have him in the setting he was in. The issue is that the girl was REPEATEDLY sexually assaulted on the bus in the presence of the driver and nothing was done to prevent it or put a stop to it. I'm sure everyone would agree with the point you make, but it has no relevance to this case. If you sincerely believe that an adult charged with the care and supervision of children has no liability if he sits by and allows a seven-year-old child to be repeatedly sexually assaulted...well, there's no reasonable end to this sentence, is there? Because no rational human being could believe that.
 written by Dave, March 27, 2008
What a ridiculously out of place and trite intro to this article. You could have put it over the top by prepending the words "They say that..." Let's f**king refer to Vegas in the context of school bus rape.
 written by Gss, March 27, 2008
Americans love to swallow pain and misery. I bet this american family will just take it and not do s**t about it. hahaha. America is full of violence these days because Americans put up with it. If Americans didn't put up with violence, they would have sent the n*****s back to Africa a long time ago.
 written by Keys To Babel, March 27, 2008
The bus driver did not notice what was going on in a 7 passenger vehicle. Give me abreak. I had a school Bus driver that would know what was going on the back seat of a 30 passenger bus because he paid attention. This went on for a 1.5 years and the bus driver didn't notice..... Come on....
http://hopemarin.wordpress.com/
 written by gus, March 27, 2008
Keys_to_babel, your post seems to confirm the drivers position that it didn't happen rather than impugn him. This whole thing sounds fishy. It's special ed bus so BOTH kids have mental problems. There's not a single mention of physical evidence, just accusations and a confession by a mentally defficient kid. The driver says he never saw a thing so he thinks it didn't happen and your post is 100% consistent with that, it's the article that suggests the driver has no ability to see the back seat and that this could have happened for 1.5 years. It's nonsense and the driver's employers agree t's nonsense. He'd have to have seen something. People in the USA who work with special ed kids take a huge risk because of this nonsense, crazy parents who cut tales from whole cloth and some authorities who'll take the whole thing literally without considering the source or plausibility. The author of this trash should be ashamed, it's not even remotely credible. Mean time the parents of the real victim here (the mentally disabled 16 year old), get sued on top of everything else they have to endure in life as people trash their son.
 written by fbekj, March 27, 2008
Why should this get more coverage? so the country can lynch a 16 year old who is already screwed for the rest of this life?
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What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. That’s the motto of the city, but does it also apply to other locations?
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