Students file suit over sexual abuse by teacher at Michigan school

(Reuters) - Five boys who allege they were sexually harassed or assaulted by a teacher at a Michigan school filed suit against the school district on Tuesday, charging that the district failed to provide a safe environment, a lawyer for the students said. The suit was filed in federal court on behalf of five former students at Grand Rapids University Prep Academy who say they were harassed or assaulted by Jamila Williams, a former math teacher. Williams was sentenced to 8 to 15 years prison in October 2013 for having sex with her teenage students, according to local media reports. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the former students by well-known plaintiff's lawyer Gloria Allred, alleges that school employees knew that Williams acted in sexually inappropriate ways at the school even before a parent made a complaint in May 2013. This included snapping her thong underwear at the back of her pants in the hallway and making comments about the sexual attractiveness of male students in front of other students, Allred said. Williams also was known to take male students off campus during the school day, Allred said. Williams was suspended in June 2014, but Allred alleges the school did little besides referring students to police. Allred said school officials failed to conduct their own investigation, help student victims stay at the school, or do anything to reach out to help parents and families who were affected. "Instead, the school turned a blind eye to the victims," she said in a statement. The Grand Rapids Public School district does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesman said. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, but Allred's statement did not specify an amount. Three of the former students are still minors and are being represented by their mothers. (Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)