9 Year Old Boy Sexually Assaulted, Almost Raped, During Bullying in Philadelphia School

In 2011, a 9 year old boy moved to a new West Philadelphia school.  What he and his family couldn’t know was that his new school would become a place at which he would be tortured by out of control bullies.  The bullying in Philadelphia’s school became so bad that the boy was almost raped.  There are so many terrible parts to this story that it is hard to pick out the worst, but personally, I would say that it was the alleged failure of the principal and teacher to save this young man who was crying out for help.

Bullying in Philadelphia’s William C. Bryant Elementary School

The bullying started with what might be considered typical behavior, with the new student getting teased. But it quickly moved on to questioning the boy’s sexual orientation, physical assaults, and forcing him to engage in acts such as humping the flag pole and watching homosexual pornography.  The culmination of the bullying allegedly occurred when one student held the boy, two others pulled down his pants and underwear and then one of the three attempted to anally rape the victim. The only reason the assault stopped is because a teacher happened by.

Prior to the alleged sexual assault, the boy’s mother repeatedly tried to meet with the school’s principal.  The principal allegedly avoided the meetings, claiming she “had been very busy.”  The boy sought help directly as well.

It was 10 days before the boy was able to tell his mother about the assault, at which point she called the police. The students who allegedly tried to rape the victim were arrested and charged. Needless to say, this child is now left with serious emotional scars.

Bullying is Unacceptable

When a child is bullied, it is the responsibility of adults to step in and stop what is happening.  Here, the principal and the boy’s teacher allegedly failed to stop horrific bullying and assaults from occurring in this school. I am outraged at what happened here and laud the boy’s mother for seeking justice in the only way she can, through a lawsuit.