Lawsuit filed against Otsego School District

OTSEGO, Oh WNWO — The Otsego School District is facing claims they repeatedly ignored and potentially destroyed evidence of harassment of a young female student at the hands of two brothers at Otsego Elementary School.

The identity of the parents and child is being withheld at this time in light of the sensitive nature of the subject matter.

A lawsuit was filed Monday by the girl's parents claiming in part that "The Otsego School District failed to protect their daughter from sexual assault and severe harassment over a three-year period."

According to the lawsuit, the now 11-year-old endured "unthinkable" treatment by two male classmates (who are brothers) beginning in 2nd grade.

The accusations include being taken to the ground on the bus on April 18, 2013 by one brother as he pulled her pants down and spanked her in front of everyone on the bus. The other brother would also allegedly cover her mouth and asked "if she liked it" while the other brother spanked her.

According to the lawsuit - the bus driver stopped the bus, pulled up the girl's pants and then continued on her route without report to the parents about the incident.

The parents claim the district delayed reporting the incident to authorities for the better part of a week.

The parents say the school district had a video camera on the bus that had captured some or all of the incident. However the lawsuit claims the school district destroyed the recording after it was shown to the parents.

It's also alleged that incidents took place during recess in the form of being called the "B" word. When the girl told the teacher that the boys were calling her this, the lawsuit claims the teacher responded indifferently to the student's complaint and ignored the incident.

NBC 24 News reached out to the Superintendent at Otsego Local Schools, Mr. Adam Koch, he responded that the school does not comment on pending litigation but did say in part:

The safety and welfare of our students and staff continue to be one of our highest priorities at Otsego Local Schools. We take these allegations very seriously and we will continue to provide a safe and positive learning environment for our students," said Koch.

The lawsuit also alleges after repeated attempts to meet with the school district about the matter, the parents were brushed off.