Family of boy allegedly assaulted by Roland-Story wrestler files civil rights complaint
The parents of a boy who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Roland-Story High School wrestling champion have filed a civil rights complaint, accusing school officials of taking a "boys will be boys" attitude toward the attack and failing to assure the student's safety.
The student suffered gender discrimination as a male victim of sexual assault, according to the complaint submitted to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.
"His sexual assault was treated as a minor hazing incident, or 'bullying,' and he was disregarded by the school," the complaint says. "This would not have happened if (he) was a female student."
Kade Blume, 17, a two-time state wrestling champion for Roland-Story, was charged Nov. 3 in Story County District Court with felony assault in the case. Another unnamed teenager was charged in juvenile court.
Blume, who was 16 at the time of the alleged attack in January 2022, was originally charged as an adult. Under an agreement with prosecutors, he will enter a plea and the case will be completed in juvenile court, which is not open to the public.
The civil rights complaint says that despite the charges, the district did not offer to separate Blume from the student he allegedly assaulted, instead requiring the boy to choose between attending school alongside Blume or completing the school year online.
It said Blume's only known punishment was "a 20% suspension" from the wrestling team for a good conduct violation, though four days before the complaint was filed, the district announced Blume would not be competing for the remainder of the 2022-23 school year.
The alleged victim ultimately changed school districts because the school "did absolutely nothing to protect him," the complaint says, and docked him credits for classes he could not finish online but for which he had done "95% of the work."
More:Roland-Story student-athlete's assault case moves to juvenile court
The boy's family says in a statement that as a result of the Roland-Story district's failure to take action against Blume, they were forced to sell their home and move to find new schooling options and have suffered "significant emotional hardship."
"When faced with the knowledge that its state champion wrestler had viciously assaulted another male student, the school district did everything within its power to protect its state champion and nothing to protect the student he had assaulted," the statement says.
"It was only until public outrage forced the district's hand did it actually remove Mr. Blume from the rest of the wrestling season. This is an embarrassment to the Roland-Story Community School District, and its conduct has been nothing short of outrageous and callous."
Roland-Story schools Superintendent Matt Patton could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. He said in a November statement the incident did not occur on school property or at a school event.
More:Police: Roland-Story student athlete charged with felony assault
In the December statement announcing Blume's withdrawal from competition, Patton said, "We understand that some members of our community are frustrated that the district is not sharing details on the disciplinary actions being taken. Please know that the district is legally obligated to maintain student confidentiality."
Roland-Story School Board member Jasmine Goeders cited the case when she resigned in December.
"My resignation from the Roland-Story board is due to the climate of intimidation of the employees at Roland-Story by administration and the lack of courage and support from other board members when I made efforts to raise concerns or make changes that would impact that climate," Goeders said in a statement. "There was also a lack of transparency and communication from administration and the board president that would enable the board as a team to promote changes that would better the district for all students and staff."
Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter at @NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Civil rights suit filed in alleged assault by high school wrestler
