Settlement For Sex Harassment of MN 4th Grader by School Official

St. Paul, MN (MinnesotaNow) - A Minnesota school district has agreed to a monetary settlement following an investigation into the sexual harassment of a young girl by an assistant principal.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced today that Osseo Area Schools will pay more than $61,000 to the student and issue an apology. The settlement also requires the district to implement reforms to prevent future sexual harassment.

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Human Rights Department Announces Settlement

A news release from the state agency says the investigation determined that the school district violated Minnesota’s civil rights law “by failing to stop an assistant principal from sexually harassing a 9-year-old student.”

“What happened was wrong and unjust. School districts should continue to be held accountable when discrimination, harassment, or any misconduct occurs. We are grateful to have received some form of justice in this situation,” said the student’s parents.

According to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, its investigation found that the assistant principal used his position of power to sexually harass the fourth-grade student. The report determined that the school official told the girl “that he could not stop looking at her, went out of his way to interact with her, and inappropriately touched her.”

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State Finds District Ignored Repeated Harassment Reports

The agency’s release also found that Osseo Area Schools knew or should have known that the harassment was taking place. It stated the district “received credible reports of the sexual harassment from other students, teachers, and the student’s parents. Despite this, the district took no meaningful action to stop or prevent the assistant principal from sexually harassing the 9-year-old.”

The state agency says the harassment — and the district’s failure to address it — had a significant impact on the child, leading her parents to withdraw her from the school system.

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