Bronx Middle School Holds Suspension Hearing For 2 Boys Accused Of Raping 2 Girls
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A lawsuit is brewing over rape allegations made against two boys at a Bronx middle school.
A school hearing was held on Monday, but the victims, ages 12 and 13, did not make an appearance.
As 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported, attorney Alan Riptka said the psychological damage would be too much for the girls.
Bronx Middle School Holds Suspension Hearing For 2 Boys Accused Of Raping 2 Girls
The Department of Education policy is that students accused of wrong-doing are allowed to answer their accusers at a suspension hearing.
But Riptka said there was no way he would allow that to happen.
"Even if they were in a different room with a camera, the fact that they would be questioned about these very sensitive issues and these psychologically damaging issues again was unfair to these young girls," he said.
The Department of Education released a statement, saying "As we committed to doing, the DOE outfitted the hearing room with technology that would have allowed the victims to testify without coming into any contact with the alleged perpetrators. The DOE is determining next steps to continue the disciplinary process to a just conclusion."
Riptka said there was plenty of evidence to suspend the boys without forcing the victims to relive their trauma.
"What about all the police reports? What about the school reports? What about the school investigation? What about the statements that were already taken from the girls? What about conversations with the boys?" he said.
The two boys, ages 13 and 14, are accused of raping and sodomizing the girls for two hours in the auditorium of their middle school on Teller Avenue in the Bronx on Oct. 16, D'Auria reported.
Riptka said he's suing the city and the Department of Education for $50 million.
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