The girl’s family repeatedly raised concerns about the behaviour of the boy and his friends before the assault,which took place over two hours at a house party in late 2019. He was found guilty in May of six counts of sexual intercourse without consent,and sentenced in August to nine months in jail,with a non-parole period of two months.
His lawyer is appealing the sentence for being too harsh,while prosecutors are arguing it was inadequate. NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman also took an interest in the case,reviewing the sentencing transcript and asking the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider appealing before the decision was made to do so.
This girl was raped by a boy from her grade at school.Wolter Peeters
The Ombudsman’s investigation will look into whether the school - which cannot be named for legal reasons - complied with rules and procedures,“was unreasonable,or was otherwise wrong” in its approach both before and after the assault,a spokesman for the NSW Ombudsman said in a statement to theHerald.
It will consider the complaints to the school before the attack,the department’s communication with the victim afterwards,and the handling of complaints to the school about the conduct of another student after the assault.
As theHerald revealed when it broke the story in early 2021,the girl’s father wrote repeatedly to the greater Sydney school in October 2019,asking it to respond to the intimidating behaviour of the boy and his friends.
“I believe that the school has a duty of care to ensure that this matter is dealt with in a fully transparent way,” he wrote in an email on October 19. “It is important for the affected girls to know they are safe at school.”
In another email,dated October 27,he asked that a recent incident of harassment be reported to police;that police be given the boys’ names;and that officers be asked to formally warn the boys about the law in relation to harassment and inappropriate behaviour towards women,and the legal consequences.
However,the parents of one of the boys refused to allow the officer to talk to their son and rejected any suggestions he had acted inappropriately. That boy raped the man’s daughter at a house party in early November.
It took almost a year after the late 2019 party for the girl to disclose the rape to a teacher. While the police investigated,she saw her rapist every day. He went to another school after he was charged,although he could legally have stayed.
In handing down her sentence in late August,the magistrate described the rape as “violating and humiliating,and the action showed little regard for her as a person.” The boy has not shown any contrition.
The matter will be in court on Friday.
The NSW Department of Education held an internal investigation into the school’s handling of the matter. It has not released the report. A spokesman said the department was confident the correct procedures were followed when it investigated the matter.
“However,we welcome the NSW Ombudsman’s review and will assist them with their enquiries,as well as consider any recommendations they make to ensure we have robust procedures in place,” the spokesperson said.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has ordered the NSW Department of Education to review international evidence for best practice in managing situations in which victims of crime attend the same school as their attackers.
National Sexual Assault,Family&Domestic Violence Counselling Line:1800 737 732. Crisis support can be found at Lifeline:13 11 14 and lifeline.org.au). The NSW Sexual Violence Helpline is 1800 424 017.