The father of a former Lutheran High School student is suing the school’s administration for failing to protect his daughter after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a fellow classmate.
The suit, filed Aug. 28 in the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, alleges that the school violated Title IX statutes because it did not enforce a judge-issued protective order which required the two students to be separated while attending classes.
Title IX is the 1972 federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex and applies to all educational institutions that receive federal funding.
The lawsuit also claims that Lutheran’s administrators failed to investigate the incident. The alleged sexual assault took place off campus over summer break.
“You claim that you’re Christian but where do your Christian morals come into play here?” Kayla Dillinger, 18, said, during a news conference in front of the federal courthouse.
“I can’t go to senior night. I can’t even go to school without being petrified.”
Dillinger says she was raped in early June when she was 17. IndyStar does not usually name sexual assault survivors. However, Dillinger and her father, Bobby, gave permission, saying they want her story to be made public.
The lawsuit names defendants as Michael Brandt, the principal, and Lutheran High School under its legal name — the Greater Indianapolis Association for Lutheran Secondary Education Inc.
The family is seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
Source: IndyStar