Rape at Raymore-Peculiar High School is alleged in lawsuit

Lawsuits filed Wednesday in federal court allege that a student at Raymore-Peculiar High School raped one girl and sexually assaulted another in separate incidents.

One suit was filed on behalf of a 16-year-old girl who reported that she was raped in January 2015 inside a high school classroom by another student identified in the lawsuit only by his initials.

The suit alleges that school officials were aware that the boy had a history of “sexual harassment and/or assault” against other female students before the attack.

The second suit involves one of those prior incidents. It occurred on a district school bus in January 2014.

According to the suit, the boy “sexually assaulted and/or harassed” a 15-year-old girl.

After that incident, the boy told a school official that “I did it again” and “I can’t seem to stop,” according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.

Both victims reported that since the incidents they have been subjected to bullying and harassment by other students.

The 15-year-old girl obtained a restraining order because of the ongoing harassment by the boy and other students. She eventually enrolled in another school because the harassment continued, according to the suit.

The suits accuse school officials of failing to adequately supervise the students and allowing other students to harass the victims.

A spokeswoman for the school district said Wednesday that district officials had not yet seen the lawsuits and could not comment.

The suits seek an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Rape at Raymore-Peculiar High School is alleged in lawsuit."