Family: Fire teacher, jail student in alleged school rape

An unusual story is developing at Kashmere High School, where the family of a student with Down syndrome claims her son was raped in a campus restroom by another special-needs student Friday. The students, both 16, weren't supposed to be in the bathroom at the same time, but one apparently walked in undetected; later, a teacher discovered both students in the room, unclothed, and now the alleged victim's mother says her son isn't doing well. "He's not sleeping, and when I put him in the car to drive him anywhere, he’s very traumatized. He doesn’t want me to leave him at any time,” the mother told KHOU.

In a statement carried by KPRC, Kashmere Principal Charlotte Parker didn't say any sexual assault had taken place: "A teacher found [the students in the restroom] undressed, and it appeared that one student may have been attempting sexual contact with the other student," she wrote. Parker — who said she didn't find out about the incident until Monday — said a male aide will be assigned to the alleged victim, who will be assigned to another classroom or another school. She also apologized for the incident, but that's not enough for the student's family, which has enlisted the help of ubiquitous community activist Quanell X: Family members want the students' teacher fired and the alleged rapist jailed. Quanell said the teacher admitted she broke policy by allowing the boys to end up in the restroom together, but the alleged victim's mother said she shouldn't be kept in the classroom. As for the alleged attacker, he was suspended and will be transferred to another school — the Harris County DA's office got a report about the incident from HISD police, but wouldn't accept charges because both boys have limited verbal skills and couldn't explain what happened in the restroom. "It hurts me very much, because of the simple fact that teacher is still here and that they moved the boy out of class and to another school where he could do this to somebody else's child," the mother told Channel 11.