Police: Boy was charged in Eberwhite Elementary sexual assault

The current status of the criminal case against the boy, who is not being named because he is a juvenile, was not immediately clear Tuesday afternoon.

Police said the boy involved in a sexual assault at Eberwhite Elementary School in March 2011 was charged in the case.

Chris Asadian | AnnArborcom

A lawsuit filed last week in federal district court alleges the boy went into a bathroom in a special education classroom and pulled an 8-year-old classmate girl off a toilet. The lawsuit states the boy kissed her, took off both his and the girl’s clothing and attempted to engage in oral sex.

Following that alleged sexual assault in March, the girl told police the same boy in the same bathroom assaulted her in October, the lawsuit stated. She told police she and another girl were changing into their Halloween costumes in the bathroom when the boy and another boy, both of whom were known to bully the victim, entered the bathroom, according to the lawsuit.

The boy who assaulted her in March attempted to engage the girl in oral sex, the lawsuit alleges, and the other boy attempted to remove the other girl’s clothing.

It was the first time anyone, including the girl's mother, had been notified of the October assault, the lawsuit alleges.

Bush said police were notified in March by hospital personnel when the girl's mother, after learning of the assault, the day after the assault, took her to be examined by doctors, who are required to notify police of crimes. A petition, the juvenile version of charges, was approved by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office on April 25. Bush said there is a very limited amount of information police could release about the incident because it involved juveniles.

“They did report it and we did investigate it,” Bush said.

The family of the girl, who is not being named because she is the victim of a sex crime, is suing Ann Arbor Public Schools for $75,000 plus costs, attorney fees and any other relief permitted by law.

The lawsuit alleges that Ann Arbor Public Schools failed to protect the girl from bullying and two sexual assaults, “which significantly interfered with her ability to fully utilize the defendant’s educational services.”

The lawsuit alleges the district violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Persons with Disability Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitative Act, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, according to the lawsuit.

Ann Arbor schools spokeswoman Liz Margolis said Monday the district does not comment on pending cases.

Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.