A freshman at Stanton College Preparatory School is suing Duval County Public Schools over a sexual assault that occurred on a school bus in 2024. The federal civil rights lawsuit alleges that the district and other defendants failed to protect the girl from escalating sexual harassment and assaults on the bus.
The lawsuit names Superintendent Christopher Bernier, two Stanton administrators, a school resource officer, Student Transportation of America, and the bus driver as defendants. According to the complaint, Bernier is named as a defendant due to his personal knowledge of and deliberate indifference to systemic failures in preventing, classifying, reporting, investigating, and remediating sexual misconduct.
The boy who committed the assault was arrested and pleaded guilty to felony battery. The district allegedly minimized the girl’s claims, delayed access to evidence, and failed to provide support to the girl after she reported the assaults.
Original reporting: Jacksonville Today — read the source article.
