It is a terrible, tragic case, and there is no good aspect to any of it. In an article by Victor Blackwell for CNN (September 22, 2014) entitled: “Plan to use teen as bait leads to rape at school, suit alleges,” we learn of the rape of a special needs student at Sparkman Middle School in Madison County, Alabama. Why or how 
the school – specifically a teacher’s aide was able to convince the girl to become “bait” is one matter; why the aide took it upon herself (and was allowed to take it upon herself) to create such a plan is incomprehensible.
The story goes back to 2010, when a 16 year old boy was essentially roaming the school looking for girls to grope and rape. According to the article:
“’School administrators knew the student’s extensive history of sexual and violent misconduct and were alerted to the substantial risk he posed to other students,’ according to a legal brief.”
The article goes on to say:
“About a week before the alleged rape, vice principals Jeanne Dunaway and Teresa Terrell received a complaint that the boy had touched a female student inappropriately and was assigned in-school suspension, [my italics] according to federal attorneys. A few days later, June Simpson, a teacher’s aide at the Huntsville-area school, told the principal, Ronnie Blair, that the boy had ‘repeatedly tried to convince girls to have sex with him in the boys’ bathroom on the special needs students’ corridor’” and had actually had sex with one student, according to the brief.”
Therefore this (obviously) emotionally-ill boy was under constant supervision. How or why he was permitted to go anywhere near the special needs area of the school defies all logic.
Playing police
According to the article, on January 22, 2010, the boy approached the special needs student and propositioned her. It was not the first time this had occurred. The girl apparently has neither physical nor emotional problems but she was assigned to the special education classes. I am not a psychologist so perhaps one of you can explain why she would be assigned to that area. In any event, the girl confided in Simpson (the aide) of the boy’s advances.
“Simpson encouraged the girl to ‘meet (the boy) in the bathroom where teachers could be positioned to ‘catch him in the act’ before anything happened.’”
The teacher’s aide went to the principal’s office to explain the plan, and apparently the principal did not pose any direction or advice which is also incomprehensible.
Here is where the story completely falls off the tracks. The boy told the girl to meet him in a bathroom other than where the teachers had set up the “sting.”
“She stalled for time. She continually tried to fight him off but ultimately was anally raped by this young man.”
I am sorry, but there is no other way to state it.
The article goes on to explain the various legal wrangling’s of the case, and even explores how the teacher’s aide became the scapegoat after the plan failed. To me, the story underscores much that is wrong with the educational system. Who takes responsibility, and conversely who is willing to abdicate authority to someone or some agency with greater expertise?
No mention of good ethics
At no point in this story did anyone seem to approach the situation from an ethical point of view, and as you might imagine, that really bothers me.
My goodness, why would anyone want to use a student as bait, especially a student who was assigned to a special needs area?
Was there no one in the school or district infrastructure who stepped up and said, “You know, this is a lousy idea?” Even if the trap had worked, wouldn’t it have further traumatized the girl? Could they have not foreseen problems?
Where were the outside authorities? Were the police called in or at least consulted? The boy had extensive complaints against him. I am sure that law enforcement would have found ways to monitor and track the girl had this plan been put into action. I am also certain the police would have been interested in the continuous stream of complaints against the boy and they might have offered alternatives to the entrapment plan such as longer juvenile detention and psychiatric intervention.
In any case, I am ethically struck by the fact that this tragedy seems more about the administrators and aides than the girl. I am not saying they are mean and evil people, only that they were playing a very dangerous game and totally out of their area of expertise. They got burned and they are sand-bagging.
The family is suing, and the administrators are scurrying as well as passing off blame. It is an ethical mess that should have been avoided.
