Texas City police and school district officials remained tight-lipped Tuesday about an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a 5-year-old autistic child by a district employee.
The abuse allegations became public Monday when the parents of the nonverbal autistic girl filed a lawsuit in district court against Texas City Independent School District and a 55-year-old teacher’s aid employed by the district. The lawsuit states that the teacher’s aid sexually abused the girl and that because of inadequate supervision and a lack of a policy concerning the reporting and investigation of sexual abuse, the district is to blame as well.
School district representatives said Tuesday that they had only just received a copy of the lawsuit and were unable to comment on the allegations or whether or not the teacher’s aid named in the lawsuit is still employed by the district.
Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the autistic child and her parents, said that the girl was especially vulnerable to sexual predators because she could not cry out or tell anyone what had happened.
Buzbee said there was physical evidence of abuse and that police confirmed that a teacher had also reported suspicions about possible abuse.
Police investigators, however, are staying quiet about their criminal investigation into the matter, citing concerns about protecting the girl’s identity. No criminal charges have been filed in the case.
“Because it’s a child, we’re pretty protective of what information we’re releasing,” said detective Brian Goetschius.
“We have no comment on any details of the investigation.”
An investigation of such import, however, warrants the public’s attention, said Buzbee.
“We have a lot of faith in the police and the district attorney that they will secure a conviction in this case,” he said.
“This suit was necessary because the police, and maybe rightfully so, are hesitant to distribute any information. Parents, and not just this little girl’s parents, have a right to know what’s going on and need to know this information.”
