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Kindergartner's Mom Says Classmates Sexually Assaulted Son
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 7, 2010
Modified Sep 7, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 7, 2010
Modified Sep 7, 2010
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Parents, make sure your "back to school" shopping list includes pepper spray. In a cover story perfectly timed for the first day of class tomorrow, the Daily News reports that a kindergartner was sodomized by a group of 6 and 7-year-olds in the bathroom of a Queens public school in June.
The alleged victim's mother, Yenny Valero of Astoria, is suing the city, and according to court papers obtained by the News, "Four boys, all 6 or 7 years old, held him down, removed his pants and inserted at least one finger into his anus. The young victim, who wears ankle braces because of balance issues, suffered physical injuries and posttraumatic stress disorder, the filing states." After her son told her what happened that night, Valero pulled the boy, who was 5 years old at the time, out of school for the final week of classes, and contacted the city's Administration for Children's Services and an NYPD special victims squad detective.
Valero has yet to hear from the city Education Department about the outcome of the investigation, but the four alleged attackers were allowed to attend kindergarten graduation, because the "investigation wasn't over," according to Valero. NYPD sources tell the News that the criminal case was closed because of the young ages of the students. And parents prepping their children for the first day of school will be just thrilled to hear from Dr. Susan Sherkow, a child psychiatric expert who says, "It's a horrible thing to happen to any child, but it's not unheard of." For further reading, here are Ten Steps to Successful Homeschooling.
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astoria
homeschool
kindergarten
queens
sex abuse
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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