Family of Red Apple assault victim can sue Unified

By Janine Anderson

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 2:14 AM CDT

Journal Times

RACINE -

The Racine Unified School District did not respond to $100,000 in claims filed by the family of the boy who was sexually assaulted in a Red Apple Elementary School bathroom in February.

Unified had a deadline this week to respond to the claims, said Eugene Gasiorkiewicz, the family's attorney. Now that the deadline has passed, the family is able to sue the school district.

The family filed two notices of claims with the district on Feb. 20. They asked for $50,000 for what the boy went through and an additional $50,000 for the parents, for the loss of companionship of their son. The claims allege the district's negligence allowed the incident to take place.

"It's amazing to me that it has come to this point," Gasiorkiewicz said. "I'm especially amazed when the district has approved $200,000 to do an initial accounting review, but can't supply $100,000 to a boy who's been sodomized. ... I don't understand their priorities."

Joshua Dyess, 20, of Caledonia, has been charged with the assault. He appeared in court Tuesday morning. No additional dates have been scheduled prior to Dyess' Aug. 7 jury trial date. No motions have been filed in the case.

The last time the case was in court, on May 15, the district attorney had not yet extended an offer to the defendant. There was no discussion about a plea deal

during Tuesday's status

conference.

The Feb. 13 assault prompted discussion within Racine Unified about school security issues, and in the months since the attack the district has publicly supported significant spending to upgrade security. The upgrades are expected to cost as much as $3 million, and the district is pursuing them even without the June referendum to help cover costs, instead looking at loans and grants to fund the changes.

Gasiorkiewicz said the boy and his family are trying to deal with the assault, but it's been a difficult process. He said the boy is still in counseling, as is a sibling. The family is trying to make things as normal as they can, he said, but an assault like this has long-reaching effects, some of which may not become apparent until the boy is much older.

Stephanie Kratochvil, the district's communications director, said their attorneys are handling the claim, and that the district cannot comment on the matter.

This is the second such suit the district could be facing. The family of one of Lisa Myhre's victims has also filed suit against the district, seeking damages for her abuse a male student while Myhre was an educational assistant with the district. The district denied that notice of claim and the family has now filed suit in circuit court.

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