Mother sues school, says son was assaulted
By Laura Hancock
Deseret Morning News
PROVO ? A mother of a former student of a boarding school for troubled youth is suing the school, claiming her son was sexually assaulted by other students.
The mother, from Aliso Viejo, Calif., seeks at least $200,000 in damages against the Discovery Academy, 105 N. 500 West, in Provo, and the parents of students identified as John and Jane Does 1-10, according to the suit filed Aug. 14 in 4th District Court.
Gregory Sanders, the attorney representing the school, said he barely was served with lawsuit papers, but he contested the allegations.
"I'm saying an assault didn't happen," he said. "What the position of the Discovery Academy is, it was horseplay among several youth and there was no sexual assault."
The boy was a minor on May 8, 2005, when two students jumped on him and physically restrained him while another student abused him with a broomstick, the suit states.
The boy was supposed to be under 24-hour supervision. The staff person responsible for monitoring him was outside the room talking on a cell phone, the suit states.
The boy did not tell school officials about the assault for two days and after school officials learned about it, they called his mother and took the boy to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for an exam and treatment, the suit says.
After the boy returned to the school, he was placed in the same area with the students he claims assaulted him. The students asked him to not cooperate with prosecutors, the suit says.
The incident is being investigated by police, the suit says, but the Deseret Morning News was unable to confirm Friday whether Provo police were working on the case.
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