HOUSTON Two 10-year-old boys are facing charges, accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy on an HISD school bus.
The three boys involved are all special-needs students.
Because of their ages, school officials and police are being very careful about what information they release.
But the parents of the alleged victim and those of the alleged attackers claim that, at first, they were led to believe that the incident wasn t all that serious.
HPD investigators, however, say it is serious, and that they found evidence on a surveillance video from the bus that was worthy of arresting and charging the 10-year-olds. The boys were taken into custody at school on January 4.
Pamela, the mother of the 8-year-old, said her son was initially suspended back in August, when the first incident reportedly occurred on the bus.
She said the school told her the suspension was for inappropriate behavior.
When he got off the school bus, yeah, his pants would be unbuttoned and his belt would be off. And I didn t know what was going on, on the bus, Pamela said.
But later, she got a call from HPD, saying that they were investigating whether her son had been the victim of a sexual assault.
Despite that fact, the 8-year-old and his alleged attackers continued to go to school together.
I feel very hurt, because, you know, I didn t know anything about it. And my son was still, when he returned to school, he was still in the same situation again on the bus with the same kids in the classroom with these same kids, Pamela said.
HISD said the principal made the determination that the boys could stay at school together, based on the information they had at the time.
The mother of one of the 10-year-olds told activist Quanell X that she s frustrated, too.
Still, to this day, this mother goes in the school to speak with school officials, and they are telling her there is nothing on the tape. Well, if there is nothing on the tape, why is her child charged with sexually assaulting a classmate, Quanell X said.
In a written statement to KHOU 11 News, HPD said the school district gave them information on the alleged misconduct and a surveillance tape that captured some of the incident.
The HPD Juvenile Division launched an investigation, interviewed numerous individuals and consulted with the Harris County District Attorney s Office before the charges were filed.
HPD said it s not unusual in cases involving juvenile suspects and victims to take some time to properly document and review all evidence before an arrest is made.
HISD also offered a written response Friday to questions from KHOU 11 News.
On August 30, 2011, the Houston ISD transportation department was asked to review general conditions on a school bus that transports students with special needs from Thompson Elementary School. As part of the review, HISD officials viewed security videos from the bus. One of those videos, filmed on August 25, 2011, appeared to show three male students engaged in inappropriate activity, the district statement read. On August 30, the Thompson Elementary principal notified the parents of the students who were involved. In addition, the Houston Police Department and Child Protective Services were also notified, and HPD took the lead on the criminal investigation.
HISD also said that the parents of the students involved were being offered counseling services for their kids.
The mother of the 8-year-old has since enrolled her son at a different campus.
