A New Jersey mother says in a viral TikTok that her child was sexually assaulted by a classmate, and school administrators didn’t notify her. She says the school did, however, notify the parents of the classmate who assaulted her son.
In the video, the mother says her son told her that the classmate grabbed her son’s butt and told him he was going to “rape” him. “This kid is in my son’s class and sits right behind my son,” she wrote in the video caption.
The TikTok, which was posted on Jan. 31, captures a meeting between the mother, Mika Ann (@geminikatz610), and the school’s principal. The principal tells her that the school is still doing its “investigation” and is “trying to see what [they’re] going to do with” the classmate and his parents.
Mika Ann says that the parents of the child who assaulted her son were informed about the situation, but the principal doesn’t confirm whether or not the school informed them.
“So you let somebody sexually assault my child?” the TikToker says to the principal. The principal doesn’t answer the question but says the actions of the other child were “inappropriate.”
“And you’re still allowing this child in the school?” she asks him. The principal nods.
In a comment on the video, Mika Ann wrote that she thinks the principal is “a quack” and that she contacted local police and filed a police report. Her other TikTok videos indicate that she lives in New Jersey.
“But trust and believe I will not stop until something is done,” she wrote. “I should have been notified by the school.”
Commenters on the video agreed with Mika Ann’s anger.
“You inform one set of parents, you inform BOTH sets. Full stop,” @clegane.am.beag commented. “Completely inappropriate.”
“My blood is boiling,” @christyrenea2 wrote. “This man’s total lack of compassion for you and your son.”
“That student should be expelled,” @alexservestea commented.
Others offered her suggestions on how she should move forward.
“Call CPS the cops the news,” @thegreerstho commented. “And sue them.”
“Get a lawyer! Please please. These districts need to be held responsible,” @brittles38az commented. “These people are not protecting our kids.”
The TikToker doesn’t mention her son’s age or grade level in the video, but sexual assault is “sadly all too common” in kindergarten through fifth-grade settings, according to Equal Rights Advocates Know Your Child’s Rights Guide on K-5 Sexual Harassment & Assault.
Mika Ann’s description of what her son experienced is in line with the definitions of sexual assault and harassment provided by Equal Rights Advocates
Federal laws protect children who were sexually assaulted at school. Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments states that students’ rights include “having their report of sexual harassment or assault taken seriously and investigated within a reasonable timeframe” and “receiving certain protections such as ensuring that [the] child can avoid interactions with their harasser/assailant in class.”
“It is imperative that the school intervenes to both protect [the child that was assaulted] and address the harmer’s problematic behavior at this early age,” said the Equal Rights Advocates’ Guide. “Schools must not turn a blind eye and wait until the situation escalates as the harmer ages.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Mika Ann via TikTok message.
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