A Federal Appeals Court in Atlanta has ruled that a claim alleging that a teenage girl was used as "bait" for a "sex sting" operation in a school will be allowed to proceed. The claim was filed on behalf of 14 year old girl who alleges that she was used in a plot to lure a sexual predator into a school bathroom. The girl alleges that, despite being told that they wanted to "catch him in the act", no one came to her aid and she was raped in the lavatory of the school.
Why such a plan was carried out and whether school officials knew or should have known about it are the facts at issue. The case was dismissed by a lower level Court of Appeal last year but, was appealed to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal. Many advocates and groups against sexual violence filed "amicus" briefs asking the court the overturn the prior ruling.
I am updating this story from my initial blog post about this incident (see here).
It would appear that the "hurdles" for the plaintiff's case are not over. Under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, there may be several more chances for the defense to file motions seeking the dismissal of the case by way of "Summary Judgment" or other means. In my opinion, the current ruling is absolutely correct in that it allows the plaintiff and her attorneys to conduct discovery and investigation into who knew what and when, which should be their absolute right to do. This will probably include requesting documents in the schools possession such as emails or other memos that relate to the incident and to the alleged sexual predator prior to the incident and most likely numerous depositions (oral questioning under oath) of school officials.
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