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Image: Burlington County, NJ: via Wikipedia.
A Burlington County mother has reached a $650,000 settlement with her son’s school district after filing a lawsuit alleging that staff failed to prevent the boy’s sexual assault by an older student. The case, filed in Superior Court in 2021, accused the Burlington County Special Services School District of failing to intervene despite prior warnings and earlier incidents involving the same student, NJ.com’s Jelani Gibson reported Sunday.
The settlement was finalized this month, according to court records. The district denied any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
The lawsuit stated that the boy was 7 years old in 2019 when he was sexually assaulted by a 12-year-old classmate. According to the complaint, the older student forced him to perform a sexual act before the school’s Christmas play. The assault allegedly began in a pre-play waiting area in front of several teacher aides and continued into a nearby bathroom.
The suit also claimed the 12-year-old had previously assaulted three other students the month before. Staff had reportedly been instructed not to allow the older boy into a bathroom with another student, yet the incident occurred despite these warnings.
The boy’s mother further alleged that when she reported the assault, school officials failed to call the police, Child Protective Services, or open a harassment, intimidation, and bullying investigation. “The true tragedy here is that this was very preventable on many levels. and unfortunately my client was the result of those failures to prevent this from occurring,” said a plaintiff’s attorney in a past interview with NJ Advance Media.
New Jersey law requires school staff to immediately report suspected child abuse or sexual misconduct to both law enforcement and child protection authorities. Educators are mandated reporters under state statute, and a failure to notify the proper agencies can violate legal obligations designed to protect vulnerable children. The family’s allegations suggest that these safeguards were not followed, adding further weight to their claims that the response failed to meet required standards.
Settlements of this size often prompt internal reviews within school districts, even when administrators deny wrongdoing. Districts may reevaluate supervision policies, revise student safety protocols, and retrain staff on reporting requirements to prevent future failures. While the settlement marks the conclusion of this legal case, it may also lead to broader policy changes intended to strengthen protections for students in specialized school settings.
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