Student sex cases
rock KamehamehaA suit claims actions
by a male student led
a girl to leave the school
Kamehameha Schools officials, who have dealt with numerous scandals over the past seven years, are now grappling with two separate cases of alleged sexual misconduct by students, both involving current or former football players.
In a lawsuit filed yesterday, a former Kamehameha student alleged that she was forced to leave the school in her sophomore year because campus officials would not expel a football player who, she said, had sexually assaulted and harassed her since seventh grade.
The 17-year-old girl and her mother filed the suit in U.S. District Court yesterday under a federal statute that bans sexual discrimination in schools. They did not file a police report about the incidents, which allegedly began in 1998 and continued until the girl left the Alewa campus in 2001 when Kamehameha paid her tuition to another school.
It is the second report within the past week of alleged student sexual misconduct at the private school.
The 17-year-old boy accused in the suit is not one of six Kamehameha football players who were suspended from playing in a key game Saturday, reportedly after a videotape surfaced of some of the boys having sex with a female student.
Attorney David Simons, who is representing the girl's family, said they decided to file now, "following the events of this weekend." He said the two incidents demonstrate a need for an independent investigation similar to the outside scrutiny into actions of the schools' trustees five years ago.
The investigation should seek "to determine whether or not there is favoritism shown to athletes or other students based on who they are, not what they do," and whether there is a consistent and fair sexual harassment policy, he said.
In a statement, Kamehameha Schools officials chided Simons for "attempting to capitalize on the current allegations involving students at Kamehameha Schools." It was the school's first official comment on televised reports over the weekend of the student sex video.
"The current allegations involving videotapes and Kamehameha students are very serious," the release said. "They affect the future of the students involved, and they require a thorough and balanced review. If any disciplinary actions are appropriate, they will be implemented in a confidential manner between the students involved and Kamehameha Schools."
School spokesman Kekoa Paulsen said actions such as suspension or expulsion will not be announced to the public.
A source familiar with the latest alleged incident told the Star-Bulletin that two football players were videotaped having sex with a female student, and the other boys were benched because they knew but did not tell school authorities.
Honolulu police are not investigating the allegations involving the videotape because no one has submitted a complaint or brought in evidence, according to police spokeswoman Michelle Yu. State law prohibits possession and production of child pornography, which includes videotapes depicting minors engaged in sexual conduct.
The suit filed yesterday does not name the plaintiffs or defendants to protect the two minors, said Simons. It alleges:
>> Complaints of sexual harassment from five girls led the school to suspend the boy for three days in 1998.
>> Only after her daughter was hospitalized for attempting suicide by taking Tylenol tablets did the girl's mother learn that she had complained of sexual harassment and received campus counseling.
>> No action was taken even after the boy violated a campus restraining order to stay away from the girl. Among numerous incidents detailed was one in which the girl "was pressured and harassed ... into having sexual intercourse."
>> A psychiatrist advised that she leave the school as long as he remained. The school "agreed to pay for Jane Doe's psychologic counseling and her tuition to attend (another private school), but did not take action against" the boy.
Simons said the boy was a football player until he was let go from the school in fall 2002, his junior year, for reasons not revealed in conferences with school attorneys.
"We tried in February to have my client readmitted to the school, but the school said no," he said.
The school replied that "many of the allegations in Mr. Simons' complaint are simply not true and will be addressed in court."
It described the allegations as "a situation that occurred several years ago, and one in which Kamehameha Schools did everything it could to support and assist his client." The statement said the schools paid for the girl's "treatment and educational support" since she left the campus.
Kamehameha has endured numerous scandals since 1997, when its former trustees were accused of mismanaging the multi-billion-dollar trust devoted to educating children of native Hawaiian ancestry. Subsequent investigations led to the resignation of the former trustees.
More recently, the schools' CEO, Hamilton McCubbin, resigned amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a female employee. He has denied the allegation. Also, the school faces two legal challenges to its Hawaiians-only preference admissions system.
Star-Bulletin reporter Susan Essoyan contributed to this report.
