DECATUR, Ga. -- A girl accused a transgender student of sexual assault at an elementary school in Decatur. Now the Department of Education is investigating.
The Alliance Defending Freedom produced a video with Pascha Thomas, who claimed a transgender student assaulted her daughter at Oakhurst Elementary School.
"When I dropped my child off at school, I never would think that she would be sexually assaulted in a bathroom," she said.
"The little boy pushed her against the bathroom stall," the mom alleged.
The Civil Rights complaint filed with the Department of Education claimed the classmate forcibly touched the victim.
At the time, the girl didn't report the incident to the staff at the school.
The Decatur Police Department investigated the allegations last fall and found "due to the suspect's age, there would be no criminal prosecution."
Attorney Vernadette Broyles filed a complaint alleging Decatur schools created a hostile environment for girls by "eliminating their expectation of privacy from the opposite sex."
"It's like her daughter's violation was erased but it was very real," she said.
"We are concerned about a school district that has put a little girl in harm's way by passing a transgender bathroom policy," Broyles added.
In Georgia, each local school district decided how to handle transgender bathroom policies. Decatur City Schools adopted their bathroom policy in 2016. It allows students to use bathrooms on how they identify themselves.
"We very much empathize with children and the struggles they bring to school but this is not the solution."
The debate over transgender bathrooms has been divisive. The Obama administration set guidance for all schools to allow transgender students access to school restrooms "consistent with their gender identity." However, last year President Donald Trump's administration "withdrew the statements of policy and guidance" issued during the Obama administration.
"This case is about a little girl going into her bathroom where she should be safe," Broyles said. "And a little boy being allowed to go in there and assault her. "
The mother withdrew her daughter from the school. It's unclear if the other student was disciplined in this case.
Decatur City Schools said in a statement they fully disagree with the characterization of the situation and are addressing it with the Office of Civil Rights. They declined further comment, citing pending litigation.
