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(ABC 6 News) – Nearly two years ago, ABC 6 News spoke with a Wabasha parent named Angie about an explicit photo of her child that was shared among students, with little consequence for the bully in question.

RELATED: Family threatens legal action against school – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com

Late last week, that same family, led by mother Angie, filed a federal lawsuit against the Wabasha-Kellogg School District, alleging that the district has “perpetuated a culture that permits sexual bullying and sexual harassment in its schools.”

The lawsuit also alleges that Wabasha-Kellogg failed to keep records of violence and harassment between students.

The lawsuit points out that Wabasha-Kellogg caused so much harassment that a current school board member, Brittney Ender, successfully waged a campaign promising to curb the bullying.

ABC 6 News contacted Ender, who declined to comment, stating that Supt. Nels Onstad had instructed the school board’s elected officials not to speak to the media.

ABC 6 News reminded Ender of that as a member of the school boardshe was appointed by the greater Wabasha-Kellogg community and is not employed by the school district.

Ender again declined to comment.

ABC 6 News reached out to Onstad and the other school board members for comment on the allegations in the federal lawsuit and Onstad’s perceived authority over the board.

“The district cannot specifically respond to allegations made by a family given data privacy obligations under state and federal law, but the district’s top priority is student safety, and the district is proactively working to ensure compliance policies and legislation of the district,” Onstad said. in an email.

One case from the Wabasha family

The Wabasha family that filed the federal lawsuit describes in the complaint years of abuse and harassment against one of their children from another student.

Between 2021 and 2023, the perpetrator is said to have physically abused the child, called him names and swear words and sexually harassed him.

The civil suit alleges that then-Wabasha Principal Stacy Schultz and Wabasha Police Department School Liaison Officer Rob Venz witnessed at least one attack but did not intervene or record the incident.

Angie called the school, after which SRO Venz reportedly called her back to prepare the school’s initial report on the incident.

Later, the same perpetrator allegedly took an explicit photo of the student and then shared it with others in the canteen.

Then-Superintendent Jim Freihammer eventually suspended the perpetrator for five days.

In early 2023, Angie told ABC 6 News that the punishment was not enough.

‘Where is his justice? This tells kids that it’s okay to take a photo and it’s okay to drop photos at school. It’s okay to bully someone for two weeks, bully someone for years, and you get a few days of vacation because that’s exactly what Jim gave this kid: five days of vacation,” Angie said.

According to the federal lawsuit, the punishment resulted in additional harassment of Angie’s child, with little or no adult intervention.

Eventually, Angie’s child dropped out of school.

History of harassment

Angie’s child may not have been the first child molested in Wabasha-Kellogg by the perpetrator described in the federal complaint.

The complaint also states an alleged history of abuse and intimidation by the perpetrator, including berating other students, physically and sexually abusing them, and making threats of violence, including threatening to bring a weapon to school.

The complaint alleges that a female student obtained a restraining order against him in the fall of 2023.

However, the complaint alleges that Wabasha-Kellogg ignored reports of harassment and bullying at the end of each school year, making it impossible to track the perpetrator’s history of harassing and assaultive behavior from school year to school year.

The federal complaint details four counts for which the Wabasha family is seeking financial compensation: sexual harassment in violation of Title IX, sexual harassment in violation of the MN Human Rights Act, denial of equal protection and due process in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the MN Human Rights Act. 14th Amendment, and negligence.

The complaint seeks damages of up to $75,000 for each count.

ABC 6 News will follow this story in federal court.