Henderson High School alleged sexual assault victim speaks to KETK

POSTED: Friday, June 22, 2012 - 10:24pm
UPDATED: Saturday, June 23, 2012 - 8:10pm
Henderson, TX — The Office of Civil Rights found that the Henderson school district wrongly punished a student after she told school officials she was sexually assaulted by another student on campus a year and a half ago.
Well now... that student has chosen to go public with her story.
She says now she finally feels some relief as she told KET her side of the story, but she also says she will never be able to get her senior year of high school back
December 6, 2010, a day Rachel Bradshaw says has changed her life forever
"I was sexually assaulted and I went to a faculty member about it and i was not, it wasn't dealt with the right way," Bradshaw tells KETK.
But Bradshaw, that her and her alleged attacker were both punished, and both put in the same alternative program.
"They evaluated my case within a day and that night they told i had been um accused of consensual sex because i did not weep during my interview," said Bradshaw.
"When law enforcement don't believe allegations of assault unless the victim cries and that's a gender bias, that's a gender stereotype to then impose upon her afterward and make her a victim all over again," Stephanie Bauman from the ACLU of Texas tell KETK.
So Bradshaw's family contacted the ACLU of Texas, and after a year and a half, Rachel's punishment has been removed from her permanent record.
But no matter what the case, she says this is something she still has to live with.
"Emotionally it's been horrible... because i haven't been able to , i haven't been able to feel relief until a few days ago."
Among other requirements, Henderson ISD must provide mandatory sexual assault training for staff, designate an on-call official at each campus concerning assaults, and review campus records to see if there were any other violations.
The school tells our newspaper partners, the Longview News-Journal, that they have revised investigation procedures, and are committed to providing a safe environment for their students.
Comments News Comments
Henderson ISD has violated the rules and violated students in so many ways, for so long, it is hard to believe. I actually sent a letter of complaint to TEA some years ago, which was completely ignored.So, if the body that is designated to uphold standards and ethics in the school system is oblivious to serious complaints of misconduct and cheating by this school administration, what can one possibly do?I could name several individuals who BLATANTLY cheated. But I won't do that for many reasons.
Cover-ups of sexual harrassment must be the norm in some schools...Penn State, Henderson ISD...no difference. The mindset is to protect the institution, not the victim...and then to penalize the victim for seeking help...well, that's beyond wrong...adults charged with educating our young people need to get their heads out of the sand and stand up for those who have been abused, regardless of what shadow it may cast on the institution...hold the abuser accountable...stand up for our children!












