A California high school is under investigation after it allegedly received a report last year that a 17-year-old student had sexually assaulted three teenage girls – but failed to alert the police.
One of the alleged victims, 16, had reported the assaults to officials at Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto, California back in November 2021, her mother Stephanie Olvera told DailyMail.com.
But she claims her report was not taken seriously and was brushed off as ‘boys will be boys.’ Worse, she alleges that the school’s vice principal tried to lay the blame for the sexual assault back on her, suggesting that it ‘might be the way she dressed.’
‘She told me that she tried repeatedly to tell the staff about what was happening,’ Olvera said. ‘But instead, they blamed her. The vice principal told my daughter that well, maybe it was the way she was dressing, or did she really tell him no? I couldn’t believe it. How is this my daughter’s fault?’
After her mother filed the report, detectives looked into the girl’s claims and found allegation that two other girls, ages 15 and 16, were also sexually assaulted by the same boy. They also found one of those girls had were reported her alleged sexual assault to the school as early as September 2021.
Sexual battery charges are pending against the 17-year-old boy who was arrested and released into his parents’ custody. It is not clear if he has been suspended or expelled from the school.
The Rialto Unified School District has now launched an internal investigation into why the school failed to notify the police.
Criminal charges against the two school officials who allegedly failed to contact the police, in accordance with California State mandated reporting laws, have been sent to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for review.
DailyMail.com has made repeated attempts to contact the school, which has not responded.
Stephanie Olvera has vowed to be a voice for her daughter
One of the alleged victims hasn’t been back to school since the police report was filed
Stephanie Olvera told DailyMail.com that she found out about the alleged assault last week after her daughter ‘wasn’t acting like herself,’ when she came home from school.
‘I knew something was wrong,’ she said.
When she confronted her, the teen broke down and told her she been sexually abused for months.
She also told her about the alleged comments made by the school official which she says had pushed her daughter to keep silent.
Since the police report was filed last week, the teen hasn’t been back to school.
‘I can’t even come back to school because before they were telling me that it was my fault and that I’m a liar,’ her daughter told FOX 11 on Tuesday as parents and supporters rallied outside the school, angry that the allegations had been withheld.
A TikTok video posted by Stephanie Olvera shows a shouting match between herself and the school’s vice principal, who she confronted for not reporting alleged sexual assault allegations against her daughters on school grounds
Stephanie Olvera and her husband are rallying for their daughter’s voice to be heard
A day after finding out about the allegations, on February 17, Olvera and her husband went to the school to confront the vice principal.
A shouting match captured on video last week shows Olvera yelling at a masked vice principal, ‘how dare you tell me I have nothing to worry about,’, referring to the phone call they received the day before about a recent incident and her daughter being upset.
‘How dare you, how dare you not call the cops yesterday for her defense,’ she continued.
The vice principal argued that she was planning to call police and that the alleged victim ‘begged’ her not to tell her mother. She explained that the teen wanted to tell her mother herself.
The parents said that there is protocol the staff should’ve followed that was not done.
‘I want the vice principal and the staff at that school to be held accountable for not reporting these sexual assaults’, she said.
Criminal charges have been recommended to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for review regarding the failure of two school officials from the school (pictured) to report the incident in accordance with California State mandated reporting laws
Parents gather outside Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto, California, after they discovered the school is under investigation for a months-long delay in reporting sexual assaults that happened on school grounds
Parents are outraged, showed up at the school on Tuesday, chanting ‘Justice for our Daughters’
Parents and students showed up at the school on Tuesday to voice their outrage over the school officials’ delay in reporting the alleged assaults.
A huge crowd gathered outside the school with signs they read, ‘Justice for our Daughters.’ Many people responded to the online posts that they were also parents and wanted to come support.
‘I have to be a voice for my daughters because apparently her voice didn’t matter,’ Olivares told DailyMail.com. ‘And it’s not just one girl, there are many. All assaulted by the same boy.’
Olvera would only identify the accused student as a wrestler at the school who had a crush on her daughter. She added that they never had a relationship.
‘Since last week, I’ve had so many people, so many girls, come forward and report their own incidents – harassment, assault, stalking, all of it with the same boy. They thanked me for giving them a voice.’
The Rialto Unified School District district spokeswoman Syeda Jafri told The Mercury News that the ‘well-being of students is our number one priority.’
‘Accordingly, these allegations are taken with extreme seriousness. The district will continue its internal investigation until all the facts related to this matter are brought to light.
‘We will also continue to work with local authorities as they conduct their own investigation.’
‘The reason for the delay in reporting from school officials to the Police Department is also under investigation.’
