BAKERSFIELD, CA - The parents of a Fruitvale Junior High student are suing the district, saying it didn't keep their daughter safe after she claimed she was bullied and sexually assaulted for 17 minutes on a school bus.
Rebekah Larkins says a school bus security camera captured last month's attack. She says her 13-year-old daughter went back to school, but says school staff didn't do enough to keep her safe.
Larkins says her daughter rode the same bus for two years and the alleged attack on October 22nd, came out of nowhere and was severe.
"As soon as I got in and saw her, I knew something was wrong, just by the way she looked. She had marks on her and her hair was missing."
Larkins' daughter told her four boys pulled her clothes, yanked clumps of her hair, grabbed at her chest, and forced her head into another boy's lap.
Larkins says Fruitvale Junior High School administrators told her they had bus security video of it.
"I didn't get to see the whole video," she said. "I just saw about five minutes of it, and from what I saw, it wasn't even the worst. It was the least horrific part of the attack."
Larkins says the bus driver never stopped it. "From the video what I saw, the kid was standing up. There's no reason why he could not have seen something."
District officials would not comment.
Larkins says school officials promised her three boys would face severe disciplinary action, and a fourth would be suspended and not allowed on the bus for several weeks. Also, bus riders would be separated by gender, and the driver wouldn't care for children again.
Larkins says it was her daughter's decision to return to school, but once school let out and her daughter got back on the bus, she says once again, she no longer felt safe.
"The bully who attacked her was back on that bus," said Larkins.
And, the bus driver may still be transporting children.
"We're told, we haven't verified it, that he was just assigned to a different route," said Daniel Rodriguez, the family's attorney.
Larkins' daughter is no longer attending school at Fruitvale.
Her family says a lawsuit is the only way to force the school to address bullying.
The school district says it turned the investigation over to the sheriff's department, which would not comment on the case. However, the department confirms it is investigating.
Rebekah Larkins says a school bus security camera captured last month's attack. She says her 13-year-old daughter went back to school, but says school staff didn't do enough to keep her safe.
Larkins says her daughter rode the same bus for two years and the alleged attack on October 22nd, came out of nowhere and was severe.
"As soon as I got in and saw her, I knew something was wrong, just by the way she looked. She had marks on her and her hair was missing."
Larkins' daughter told her four boys pulled her clothes, yanked clumps of her hair, grabbed at her chest, and forced her head into another boy's lap.
Larkins says Fruitvale Junior High School administrators told her they had bus security video of it.
"I didn't get to see the whole video," she said. "I just saw about five minutes of it, and from what I saw, it wasn't even the worst. It was the least horrific part of the attack."
Larkins says the bus driver never stopped it. "From the video what I saw, the kid was standing up. There's no reason why he could not have seen something."
District officials would not comment.
Larkins says school officials promised her three boys would face severe disciplinary action, and a fourth would be suspended and not allowed on the bus for several weeks. Also, bus riders would be separated by gender, and the driver wouldn't care for children again.
Larkins says it was her daughter's decision to return to school, but once school let out and her daughter got back on the bus, she says once again, she no longer felt safe.
"The bully who attacked her was back on that bus," said Larkins.
And, the bus driver may still be transporting children.
"We're told, we haven't verified it, that he was just assigned to a different route," said Daniel Rodriguez, the family's attorney.
Larkins' daughter is no longer attending school at Fruitvale.
Her family says a lawsuit is the only way to force the school to address bullying.
The school district says it turned the investigation over to the sheriff's department, which would not comment on the case. However, the department confirms it is investigating.