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Parents say still no answers after alleged school bus sexual assault

BOSTON — It has been more than a week since allegations of sexual assault on a charter school bus in Boston sparked outrage, and parents say they still don’t have any answers.

School administrators held a meeting at Boston Renaissance Charter Public School in Hyde Park on Monday to discuss the safety of students.

“The parents want to know who, what, when, and why, and if the child is still attending the school. We don't know,” said Shannon Johnson, the mother of a six-year-old boy. “After this year, my son is going to be gone. He’s not coming back here.”

Many parents told FOX25 the most upsetting part is the response to the Nov. 3 incident. While the school immediately notified the directly affected families, as well as Boston police, and the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said the agency was not notified within the required two-day timeframe.

It wasn’t until two weeks after the incident that many parents learned about the incident through a Facebook post by a woman named Trina. Her godson attends Boston Renaissance, and she is friends with the mother of the alleged victim.

“I didn't really know what was going to happen after I posted the post, but thousands of people started sharing it,” Trina said. “At the end of the day, people have kids who go here. People are parents. They need to know what’s going on, because they swept it under the rug when that happened to my friend’s son.”

The mother of the alleged victim, who asked not to be identified, told FOX25 her son told her the other boy had molested and threatened him about ten times by Nov. 3. That mother, too, left the meeting disappointed.

“Nothing was geared toward us who were hurt,” she said. “It was more toward defending that kid. I know he needs to be defended, but what about my child?”

Some parents still have confidence in the school, including Pata Dibinga, who has one child at the school and another who will attend next year.

“I have enough confidence in the school that I'm going to send my kid here for K2 next year on the bus for the next seven years,” Dibinga said. “There are things (the school) can't tell me, because were dealing with babies. I mean these kids are very young. Just because we can’t get the information the second we want it doesn't mean things aren't being handled.”

School officials declined to speak to reporters on camera, but said in a statement, they “understand why parents were upset to learn about the incident through social media and local news outlets, and appreciate how that caused confusion, fear and frustration.”

The school assured parents administrators had notified the “appropriate authorities” as well as the directly affected families, also taking “safeguards” to ensure “no other child’s safety was at risk after we became aware of the events of Nov. 3.”

Boston Renaissance’s full statement:

On November 21, local media reported on an alleged incident involving Boston Renaissance students that occurred on a school bus on November 3. These news reports came after details of the incident were posted on Facebook on November 20, by someone who is not associated with the school; prior to the social media posting, the school was working privately with the families involved and the related public agencies responsible for investigating and intervening in such cases.

Tonight, the Boston Renaissance community came together to hear the concerns of parents, learn more about the school's response, and discuss how we can work together to further ensure student safety on school buses and inside our school.

We understand why parents were upset to learn about the incident through social media and local news outlets, and appreciate how that caused confusion, fear and frustration.

We want to emphasize, however, that the families of the affected children were contacted immediately, and the decision to notify only those families was made to protect the privacy and wellbeing of these very young children.

At the time this decision was made, the school had already taken steps to notify the appropriate authorities, as well as child advocacy and social service organizations. We had also immediately put in place safeguards to protect the safety of all Renaissance students. In addition, our staff had already met with each and every family of the students involved and offered support services.

We have since followed up regularly with these families to ensure they are availing themselves of the services we have offered, and to relay our ongoing availability and support. We also discussed with these families alternative transportation options, including requesting bus monitors for their children.

We feel confident that these safeguards were effective and continue to be effective. We believed then and believe now, that no other child's safety was at risk after we became aware of the events of Nov. 3.
We are committed to continuing an open dialogue with parents to ensure their concerns are heard, and to working with them collaboratively to promote a safe and nurturing school environment.