89.3 North Highlands Sacramento reveal is next it's 4 o'clock. From the Center for Investigative Reporting and. This is with. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Janine Herbst President Tom son in law allegedly proposed setting up a secret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team this according to The Washington Post although n.p.r. Has not independently confirmed the report national security advisor h.r. McMaster says he want to dress the caution or report directly but said a back channel between the transition team in Russia wouldn't be a problem we have back channel communications with in a number of with a number of factors So generally speaking about back channel communications what that allows you to do is to communicate in a discreet matter so it doesn't predispose you toward a sort of content of the conversation or anything so no I would not be concerned about McMaster made the comments while in Italy with the president neither Russia nor the White House has commented on the report and the g. 7 Summit in Sicily has wrapped up the Group of 7 wealthy democracies heard from 5 African leaders whose agenda was migration as N.P.R.'s 8 apparel to reports Italy which has received thousands of African immigrants wanted to make the continent a big part of the discussion at the 2 day meeting but much of it was dominated by climate change and the terrorist attack in Manchester still leaders of Kenya Tunisia Ethiopia in one theory joined the talks Kenyan president who cannot a told the leaders that now is the time to invest in Africa there is a rising tide on the continent he said and the return on investment is among the best in the the world a freer more prosperous Africa he said is a means toward solving some of the world's most affecting problems including the mass migration of Africans into Europe in a Prata n.p.r. News Nairobi as part of President Trump's budget proposal funding for security at the perimeter of the nation's airports as well as at rail stations would be slashed N.P.R.'s David Schaper reports the plan is raising concerns about the vulnerable vulnerability of so-called side. Targets a trumpet ministrations plan calls for shifting the responsibility for funding security patrols outside of the perimeter of t.s.a. Checkpoints to the local governments that own and operate airports the budget would also cut by more than half a $100000000.00 grant program for security at Amtrak and other passenger rail stations so I absolutely think there will be increased danger you have prices in aviation security expert at Metropolitan State University in Denver once you're starting to take away the individuals that are out there to protect the public areas then the public areas will simply become more vulnerable Rice says the risk is already great to what are known as soft target areas as demonstrated by the suicide bomb attack at the Manchester Arena David Schaper n.p.r. News Britain's downgrading a threat level from critical to severe officials say investigators have made major progress after this week's terror attack in Manchester the kill 22 and injured dozens of others 2 more suspects were arrested today this is n.p.r. News from Washington. A Muslim group is suing a city in New Jersey after its application to build a mosque was turned down N.P.R.'s Joel Rose reports the lawsuit filed this week accuses Bayonne of violating federal law the group known as ban on Muslims has been meeting in a church basement for years while trying to build a permanent mosque in this working class town across the harbor from New York City that effort stirred up local opposition in the Bayonne zoning board ultimately rejected the group's application citing concerns about parking and traffic but in a lawsuit the ban on Muslims allege the denial was really motivated by anti muslim animists the lawsuit was filed the same week that a similar case in New Jersey reached its apparent conclusion Berners township was sued by the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge and the Department of Justice last year after denying the group permission to build a mosque the town has agreed to settle Joel Rose n.p.r. News British Airways says it was a power supply issue not a cyber attack that cause the airline to cancel all of its flights from London's 2 airports today in a video message on Twitter the c.e.o. Said he was sorry for the inconvenience. For Gellman the southern rock pioneer whose bluesy vocals helped propel the Allman Brothers to band to superstardom has died that's him singing his 1st solo hit I'm no angel publicist says he died today at his home in Georgia from liver cancer the band's songs including rambling man Midnight Rider and whipping post help to find a Southern rock sound he was married to share in the late 1970 s. He died at the age of $69.00 I'm Janine Herbst n.p.r. News in Washington support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the estate of Joan Kroc whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at our w j f dot org. From the Center for Investigative Reporting in p r x This is reveal. The mid coast of Maine is full of pine forests sleepy harbors craggy beaches Charlie when this part of the state is a place of easy summers and cold winters a few weeks ago he was standing on the beach looking out at an old pier and lifeguard station in the distance lobster boats prowling the mouth of the Kennebec River. Charlie remembers one blessed recent temper afternoon when his son Chaz drove here it was storming that day and it was colder than a few knows exactly a nice day. This place has always kind of Kong me seemed at the time like there was a storm inside jazz and I just wanted to try to talk to him and find out what was going on it was 5 years ago Chaz was 13 just starting 8th grade in crisis he was barely passing his classes and he was talking about suicide. Charlie knew other kids were bullying his son at school but not a lot more than that we started walking and just couldn't quite get I didn't understand the depth of what had been happening to him I was like well the bullies are going to stand up to you know I've been bullied and I was trying to give him the father son you know you got to be a man is standing up to them and then he was. Charlie and slowly made their way at the beach and I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere with them after they turned around then Chaz stopped in the same standing there looking out of the water and. Waves and wind coming at him and stuff for me he said. You mind if I go in the water. And I wasn't sure what I thought try to commit suicide several times has rolled up his pants took off his shoes and socks and placed them neatly on the beach his father said. Dared after wondering if he'd have to rescue his son who walked out kind of up to his knees. And Shari like yelling at the sky. Listen to me. And I didn't know what America 45 times. All I understood was I think that I'm dealing with a problem that's larger than I really understand. cool 7 are by their peers. We're teaming up with the a.p. On Today show they also found that many of these cases go unreported people don't like to talk about this stuff it was like that which as Wing he his abuse and pain for a long time but he talked to Associated Press reporter Robin McDowell about it she brings this story. From his 1st days at Brunswick junior high school Chaz remembers being bullied he tells me boys would corner him at his locker taunt him in the halls they'd bump him in class they play jokes and I think they picked on me because of my weight the type of music I listen to my interests the way I I acted anything that wasn't completely cookie cutter a middle school boy or to. Jazz is 18 now but he's always been a quirky kid his dark brown mullet hangs to his shoulders he collects old records. 8 track tapes instead of sports and video games he started an analog company school . He's an interesting kid this is his mother Amy blond blue eyed she's a nurse who's passionate about her work and her 2 sons she split up with Charlie when Chaz was in the 5th grade. She says when she has entered junior high he was considered gifted and talented within a year though his grades started slipping and he come home feeling confused and upset why are the why are the kids mean why are they mean to me at 1st I was like well let me know they have problems at home they're just picking on you to make themselves feel bad are if you ignore him they'll stop Chast tried to ignore the bowling but it got a lot more personal though was the thing that they called the gates asked Can you tell me about it the gay test was when they lightly put their hand on your shoulder and if you didn't notice it and battered away you know under 10 seconds they. They would declare that you were gay and you must've enjoyed it and that's why you didn't knock their hand away. It was very uncomfortable I definitely had to watch over my shoulder quite a bit it would happen inside and out of school and I didn't feel like I had any. Privacy. Like a lot of schools around the country Brunswick Junior High had a policy against bullying Chaz remembers anti bullying assemblies and posters if you see something say something so he did he complained so many times some teachers labeled him a nuisance. The bowling got so bad his mom Amy says she marched into principal Walker Wallace's office several times he told her he'd speak to the boys and their parents 1st he seemed like he was interested I trusted that he would follow through and look into everything you know they kept saying that they were. Were handling out. Amy says Wallace didn't live up to his promises. So beautiful and just to solve their problem of all the sea ever since he was a kid Charley winglike coming here to pop a beach where it's a half hour drive from friends with I don't mind get a little bit what Charlie wing looks like a biker with a grain shaggy beard he works at a big retailer and dresses like a drummer in a rock band that's what he does for fun. On a blustery September day when he brought Chaz here Charlie says it felt like a movie and we were getting last in the face with a little bit of rain and him just yelling at the wind you know yelling out at the firies about the powers that be I suppose you know. I'll never forget that I'll have just that this is a big deal and I need to really start paying more attention. Chaz didn't tell us that anything but he was about to open up it started after Amy met with a group of his teachers. Was refusing to go to school the teachers wanted to get him back into class but they told Amy that Chaz needed to meet with them so she headed home and told him and he said no. As you have to they want you to be at that meeting. And he grabbed the pillow on the bed and started holding and was rocking back and forth and he said no I can't go and I said you have to he said no I can't they're going to hurt me and I said Chaz. You have to tell me what is going on. And he just kept saying they're going to hurt me if I can't go back. And finally I told him I said if you don't tell me I can't help you we can't fix this I need to know what's going on you have to tell me and that and that's when he told me started telling me everything Chasse told Amy something had happened to him at school back in the 7th grade he says some of the same boys who'd been bullying him sexually assaulted him. Later Chaz gave more details when. He said some boys grabbed him in a school bathroom and raped him 3 different times Chaz told me he didn't talk about this with anyone for months because he was ashamed and afraid they threatened to hurt my my family and pets they threatened to hurt me they they cut my arm which I still have a scar from. They threaten to burn our house down. On the one hand it all it all made sense on the other hand I didn't want to believe it I couldn't believe it I had never in a 1000000 years thought school was where it was. A me when reported to the school what Chaz told her about the sexual assault principle while this led an investigation but left the job of interviewing Chaz to his vice principal the Brunswick police also investigated the man in charge he was also the school resource officer at Brunswick junior high. Was telling the truth then the assaults happened on their watch. The investigations wrapped up in about a month the Brunswick Police Department and the school district determined there was no credible evidence to support Chaz allegations even though a state psychologist found strong evidence that Chaz was sexually abused I don't think people want to believe it happens that sexual sought happens amongst children Courtney beer is someone Amy wing turn to for help She's a staff attorney with pine tree a nonprofit that offers free legal aid I just don't think people want to acknowledge that it exists and that discouraging part is that there is no way to track the numbers Courtney says she believes Chaz was telling the truth it became more real to her when she walked through Brunswick junior high with them as she looked into the case you could see Chaz is raw sense of emotion when he had to walk into the bathrooms or the assaults had occurred and things are memories are coming back to him as he walked to school and he was disclosing details that he had not reported previously because he was remembering them as we were there. In 2015 the wings filed a lawsuit claiming the district had violated the child's civil rights by not doing . Enough to stop the bullying and abuse the state's Human Rights Commission joint. School officials wouldn't talk to us but they had to talk to Travis lawyers we had 10 hours of video depositions that were part of the lawsuit. More you can Mr Wallace Could you spell your full name for the record water was there really. In one deposition attorney David Weber questions principle watch. He says other kids did bully Chasse from time to time and the school dealt with it he also says he couldn't verify a lot of what Chad's had to say well there were a lot of reports about things that we could not substantiate there was hypersensitivity to any look. Any movement on any machine in the hallway he tells the court that some of his problems with other students were his own fault and chose very pinin. He likes what he likes. If you don't agree with him on things he gets irritated with some arrogance then they get into the sexual assault allegations Wallace said he had trouble believing Chasa story because he didn't think the attacks could have happened in the small bathroom stall and he believed what the other boys had to say when students reaction was. The student didn't have no idea what even we were talking about no frame of reference for sex. He was bewildered he was confused. The other students immediately were shaking their head no that never have to do that but I do. Enjoy every interview Chaz worrying about his allegations of sexual assault by. Hindsight should you have spoken directly to Chatsworth I could of and I don't. I was confident in the notes that were taken this was a sensitive case. We were trying to do this as quickly and as efficiently. As possible. Did you ever go back to Chaz work. With any of the information you obtained in the interviews. Gaskin do explain your concerns about plausibility or credibility of these allegations. And you consider doing. That I remember. There's something else Walter while this didn't deal he never made a written report he just told the school superintendent about his findings you write any of this there. I don't know I don't think so. Was this important judgment you were sure. In hindsight should you have written your analysis down. I think it would be helpful in their. M.P.'s stand by telling us your names such as when Charles when in his deposition Chaz wears a black dress shirt and gray tag he looks composed attorney Melissa Huey questions him for 8 hours over 2 days at one point she brings up the Times other boys would gently touch the shoulder of the so-called h.s. And why are you concerned that people really think you're working because it was taboo it was frowned upon by the majority of students at the school their attorney Courtney beer attended many of the depositions it certainly felt to me that he that the district was seeking to somehow blame him for his involvement and for part of what happened his sexuality was a topic of question and it was something that the teachers had also asked him when he was in school as to whether or not he. Was Again if you wasn't then why would it really matter if you was being called to recall. Complain to. Anybody at France or chant high school or that 2 male students told your I love you . Yes I do remember that you were offended by it once more would you be offended by contraction. The term otherwise is really out of touch with reality. Check to tell relatives Yes I can. Can And I think investors because there's us question General color all the answers . When you are suggestion is contrary to the word works and so it does I don't wish it had a good faith basis for suggesting that a middle school boy is not going to be upset by that color. Could you please repeat the question. Dr Knapp sent you that someone sad i love you. Because I think. I did not. Think it was appropriate for another male student to love me. So I didn't have I didn't see any reason for them to say they lovely later I asked Chaz if he thought the way the attorney question him felt like another kind of gay test yes yes definitely. I believe they were trying to solicit a a more aggressive in re response from me trying to make me seem belligerent. To Schools attorney spent hours taking chasseur each alleged assault in graphic detail he describes how on one occasion 2 boys held him in the bathroom stall and raped him Ok then what happened. I. Clean myself up and I and I went back to class. To class. As you tell anyone about this no and why not because I was afraid that I would be in danger if I did. After the depositions wrapped up in this family felt a rush of emotions it was painful for them to relive all the things Chaz as he went through they were angry Chasse's he also felt some relief that it was almost over. Within a few weeks the 2 sides moved toward a settlement the district agreed to pay $125000.00 after legal fees at $50.00 pounds the district also promised to improve the way it tracks allegations of bullying but what chance one and most of all was an apology from the school district there would be no. We're going to follow this road all the way to the end of a recently I took a drive around Brunswick the chasse It's an old mill town population 20000 down to the right use a back way to get to the Goodwill one of my favorite places to go shopping we passed the weekend flea market where he sells some of the old electronics he collects. Back at home Chad leaves me down in. Into his basement it's packed with stuff he's collected since he was little stuff he can't seem to like got the selective vision r.c.a. V.c.r. Here I have a Betamax v.c.r. Their cd player. This is where everything that's too good for the flea market stays everything I want to keep in my own collection. So that is. There is a 124 hour ca with photo phone audio capabilities. I like preserving the history I like being able to access any tape any disc that comes my way be able to see what's on it not just be left wondering could this be footage of my parents or grandparents taking their 1st steps. To Chaz being able to tell a story that was trapped inside him is a bit like bringing these flickering images back to life now he just wants to move on he just finished high school he says he might stand runs we can find a job or go away to college sometimes he just wants to hop on a bicycle ride all the way down to Florida where his grandparents live. Chasse says he hopes his decision to go public will help others who faced bullying and sexual violence in school he says he'd be willing to forgive the boys if they apologized to him he doesn't feel that way about the Brunswick school officials they're all adults they. Only Knew know full well what their actions mean and. One of their jobs is protecting the students they were accepting taxpayer money for something they weren't doing. I don't think that they should still be in charge of a school district. We reached out to Brunswick school district they wouldn't talk to us but just before we wrapped up the story the attorney for the school district Melissa hewing said the associated press statement in it she said one reason the district settled was to protect the boy is that she has accused from a public trial she called them the real victims. Thanks to the Associated Press is Robin McDowell for this story was produced by Michael Montgomery. When we come back we'll have more about the scope of reporting on sexual assault among kids you're listening to reveal. Support for k.q.e.d. Comes from Mighty my termite services the Bay Area Termite and pest experts might be might eliminates Termite and pest problems using orange oil and other targeted low toxicity options that don't require tenting or move out body my termite dot com 1440 a new learning destination in the California redwoods offering weekend and 5 day programs in mindfulness leadership and wellbeing faculty includes Elizabeth Gilbert Richard Davidson and more 1440 daughter ward. Can I have a hug and a kiss. And across his face. And his arms were around this grown child soldier. And Sons this week. From p.r.i. Public Radio International. Selected shorts will cover your way tonight at 8 o'clock here on k.q.e.d. Public Radio. From the Center for Investigative Reporting in p.r. X. This is reveal. A reminder that today's show deals with child sexual and important topics but one that isn't faultless before the break we heard the story of Chaz way he settled a lawsuit with the school district over allegations that other students bullied and raped him. His story is a part of an Associated Press investigation into sexual violence at school. With me now. So Reese this investigation is a really heavy subject and as a father with 2 kids in school it was shocking to me I mean I don't think I thought about these type of assaults happening at least not on the scale that you guys reported on yeah I'm a father of a 1st grader myself and I think you other parents me we all. I believe when we send our little ones off to school that there are so many adults around they're going to be kept safe and over recent 4 year period we found roughly $17000.00 cases of rape sodomy sexual assault with an object force fondling these are severe we did not track consensual sex among teens this is the serious stuff we also know that a gimmick studies estimate it's significantly higher those who are sexually assaulted don't immediately report if they report at all and schools across the country don't face a national requirement to tracking disclose these cases Emily let me ask you what happens when this kind of things discover typically how schools react what schools are supposed to do when this happens is they're supposed to 1st of all take this really really seriously according to Supreme Court rulings and the u.s. Department of Education conduct a prompt and thorough investigation keep the alleged victim and perpetrator apart take an honest assessment of whether the alleged victim is has been subjected to what they say is a hostile environment unfortunately we've found lots of cases in which schools have not responded this way they haven't conducted impartial thorough investigations sometimes they'll bring both the alleged victim and the alleged offender into you know the principal's office and just say Ok what happened here often unfortunately kids who report this stuff to administrators are disciplined so they're suspended or they're expelled or they're just forced to transfer to another school because the schools won't accommodate them in a way that allows them to go to school without being terrified. An assault happening again you also reported on how hazing of school athletes can lead to these kind of sexual assaults and this is where language is really important because calling hazing officials aren't taking it as seriously as they should why aren't school districts and law enforcement calling it what it is that's a good question I think part of it is people think if you're part of a group and you're the new member you're going to undergo some some razzing from from the veterans you hear it a lot in sports so I think that's why people use the term hazing for what we saw in our investigation and what we saw is upperclassmen athletes forcibly holding down the younger boys and doing some pretty pretty rough things I mean we were talking about for sodomy it's not wanted and under many penal codes it's potentially a felony or at the very least you know Mr Minor sexual battery and experts are telling me because we're getting the language wrong because we're calling it bullying or calling it harassment or calling it hazing we're not really addressing the root cause of the problem here in the school districts they would tell the public gets inappropriate physical contact when they knew there was an allegation of sexual saw So how does the public understand and know what's going on inside the locker rooms if we don't stop using the word hazing for it but as a parent if your child is a victim of sexual abuse what recourse do you really have 1st would be a criminal investigation the downside there is that in these sorts of cases where the victim doesn't immediately come forward you know with the passage of time memories fade and evidence is lost so in the cases we've examined there's not always criminal charges the next recourse. I would be filing a complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights that's the office that handles violations of the federal law known as Title 9 that stand I discrimination laws that the Education Department has been using to investigate and they've used that as the tool to remediate any such Will violence at schools another recourse is the civil courts but from what legal experts say there are very high legal hurdles to get the right to sue a public school district so you reported on The Office for Civil Rights and through them the Obama administration did a lot of outreach to let people know they could file these complaints but that sort of backfired because they weren't able to handle them all about half of those complaints have been resolved How's the trumpet ministration handling this going forward it doesn't seem like the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is going to be as aggressive as it was under the Obama administration the victim's rights advocacy groups say they're going to push really hard to make sure that the government continues to enforce Title 9 in sexual assault cases but there is definitely been a strong and consistent opposition from members of the Republican Party and some conservative activist groups to dismantle this cried ends and really to take away the government's ability to step then on student on student sexual assault cases how do we as the public force these institutions to be accountable for their actions Well these are public schools and you're the taxpayer and there's a federal law on the books title 9 that demands a good investigation by the schools and demand. Other actions on the part of schools so as members of the public we can be of the school board and we can ask for more questions and in fairness to the schools they do have certain confidentiality laws they have to think about for the students these are juveniles but in a number of cases we've looked at there are basic facts basic details that they could be given the public so that parents like you how can keep your kids safe and so that you can make good choices and you can talk to your children about what they might face when they go to school. That's restock. The Associated Press thanks for coming in and helping spread the word about all this thanks for having us thank you. So how can you get a school to pay attention to this kind of. We go to one school in Oklahoma where students made that happen that's next reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and. Support for k.q.e.d. Comes from Stanford children's health with over 725 Stanford medicine doctors across 60 Bay Area locations including the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford expertises closer to home Stafford children's dot org matches firm formally sleep train mattress firms to foster kids program partners with Foster agencies throughout the Bay Area to match local foster children with donated clothing shoes school supplies and more matches firm foster kids dot org. Because he wanted to be taken seriously the teachers would listen to my problems because I felt like a lot of people thought that just because I was young that my problems. American teen races up the charts people are listening now on the next All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. Which will come your way at 5 o'clock here on. Radio 88.5 f.m. From the Center for Investigative Reporting and p.r. This is. This hour we're teaming up with our partners at the Associated Press on a really unsettling topic sexual assault among kids this is not appropriate for all listeners. Now when you hear these stories you think what can we do well reveals. Visited one school in Oklahoma where students found a way to fight back. It's Thursday afternoon at Norman high school and students are rushing to class and plastered up against a locker as the crowd surged by. The weekend's coming and students are making plans by Monday photos and videos passed around will fuel the weeks. That's one way what happens off campus can become the school's problem I think there was a time maybe 30 years ago where you'd say well you know that happened on Saturday we're not in school on Saturday it's not really our concern those days are gone that's district superintendent just saying now about 2 and a half years ago something happened off campus after a weekend party that changed the school this next part is pretty disturbing a male student didn't just rape a girl he shot video during the assault and circulated it and then she just received a lot of ridicule for that that's Danielle Brown who was a sophomore at the time the school suspended the attacker for the rest of the academic year but his friends were still at Norman and the video was still out there the victim felt bullied after one student hassled her and she fought back the school suspended her she ended up transferring to another school. The assault and its aftermath disgusted Danielle she is the same age as me so I mean the fact of. Danielle is hardly your classic activist I mean I am a very quiet person a very introverted person but she and her friends wanted to protest to support the victim and demand their school do more for students who'd been assaulted I was the one that knew that we probably needed adults with us because I was 15 at the time it was a bunch of sophomores and juniors she got in touch with Stacy right her aunt who lives blocks from Norman High Stacy's 1st move was to activate her feminist knitting circle a group of women that get together and work on crafts and just talk about our lives and the ills of the world and support each other and Danielle often shows up at those meetings too and I told her to invite the young woman and her mother to knitting circle and have them you know just come in if they wanted to share their story and we would figure out what to do. We got together that night and I don't think that any of us are even really prepared for the horror of what this young woman had been through. Lands for the protests started to shape up the students figured they'd go to school then a few minutes in the 1st hour walked out they came up with the hash tag Yes all daughters to represent the idea that assault could happen to any of them that turned out to be true more girls from Norman High School came forward teens who said the same student had attacked them too his name was Tristen Kilmer and hard. And. That's Daniel Brown again and they hadn't been going to school and they hadn't been getting any support until the protests got going. On Facebook. That's Harper not her real name she says Tristen assaulted her 2. It happened in a restroom on campus she remembers they've been dating but they broke up after Tristen got violent he started spreading rumors about me sending pictures around of me that I didn't even know were taken of me then the bullying started I ended up getting I I don't want to say I got jobbed but a girl really wanted to beat me up because of all the rumors that were going around . I left the school right after that I didn't go back and feel like I go back harder felt isolated ostracized even hearing about the protest change that there is going to be this walk out because this happened and I grew up that also happened to me is so. Maybe you should talk to somebody now it's been a while maybe I should talk to somebody because I feel like I can talk to somebody . The day before the walk out the school district was on high alert in a letter the superintendent told parents he'd excuse absences during 1st hour but he added We do not know who will be in charge of tomorrow's event that day Danielle told her English teacher that she was and I told her I was like I'm one of the organizers for the time walking out. And left. Her with. 600 and. Stood outside watching students. Walk down and it felt like that stream of students would never end they just kept coming and coming and coming out the door and I was standing there with them. At this point. And one of them said. To as all those students walked toward her. Probably the best feeling of. That just made me feel like I had. Protesters wave signs that transfer is not the answer and education not. One woman. She's my daughter. Went on for hours. With her mother and she delivered a list. Demands to the principal of Norman Hyde. Later that day Harper interest and other victims bonded away from the crowds and the signs in the news cameras after the protest I feel like everyone. Just kind of felt like they could let it go for a minute we all went to go get our nails done together and all of us girls like to sing and so we're just sitting in the Elsinore all singing and the ladies are like come on that's. The walk out even inspired one protester to compose an anthem Hey honey it was a time when we really wanted to say something to step out and say we are making a statement that says her twin sister Grace wrote the song and they perform it together in their band Annie Oakley. Eventually Tristen Tillman Harden went to prison for the rape that sparked the walkout. 3 of his victims sued the school district claiming it displayed deliberate indifference to Plaintiff's rights to a public education they settled. This spring I met school superintendent Joe cyano at his office it was almost the end of his last semester before he'll retire he says what happened at Norman high topped the district a lot most importantly the when sexual violence happens schools should always remember this a student was traumatized regardless of all of the issues around it and you have to deal with the trauma 1st the district created new full time positions to do just that the student advocacy coordinators at both of our high schools and now an expanded to our middle schools the advocates make sure students who've been victims of sexual assault trauma harassment or bullying get the help they need the Syrians are using the advocates high schools are probably too busy as physicians every day they're busy problem still happen I don't know that it is or can be held accountable to make sure nothing ever happens if you have to mitigate and minimize these things in 2016 another case shook the school district 2 boys reported that teammates sexually assaulted them on a wrestling team trip the victims were $16.12 at the time one of their parents sued the district I think the things that we learned from the other situation played out exactly the way they should in that the primary focus was to students who came forward and were victimized and then we dealt with all the other pieces after that I asked Harper how she felt when she heard about the wrestling team even though the whole situation was terrible it kind of ease my mind a little bit to know like. They're going to be able to talk someone and they're going to be able to find help and this isn't something that's just under the rug anymore like yes all daughters made it easier for them to talk about it happening to them. By Katherine and she joins me in studio now how so Norman there was a crisis and the school district actually reacted to that the question I had is do you think that the school district would have done anything if the kids hadn't done the protests you know I think that's really impossible to say but I think we can give the students a lot of credit for putting this issue on the absolute top of the agenda because they did this walk out they showed that this was really important to hundreds of students and the administrators responded to that as good as it was that was actually reactive the right like the violence had to happen in this is the aftermath in response to it but you've gone out and talked to some schools that are actually trying to get ahead of there are some school districts in Oregon that are trying to approach this really in a different way instead of being focused so much on the victim they're actually trying to prevent the violence in the 1st place and the way they're attempting to do that is by identifying kids who have some kind of troubling sexual behavior that they're exhibiting at school and I went to a Newport Oregon to try to find out more about these efforts. And that of beachfront Best Western but where I am there's no view of the way in a windowless conference room with people who work with juvenile sex offenders. From around the state they've come for presentations on topics like sexual consent a multi-dimensional approach this talk is about pornography addiction you know I remember when I was like 13 years old my cousins and I found a playboy Wilson Kenny leads the session it was like oh my God this is amazing you know when it was late it was like a sacred document we pass it from one the you know and this is a thing that like I treasured for years and. And it's so different now right because you can go online and not just find like a playboy but like you can find the Wilsons a father of 4 and a psychologist for an expert in sexual misconduct he surprisingly optimistic so he has a disarming ability to talk without getting embarrassed about topics many of us would prefer not to think about here's the title of his book Sexual misconduct in children Wilson thinks schools can do more to identify kids early on who have problems with their sexual behavior he's helped some school districts in Oregon do that at his porn talk a school psychologist from one of those districts pipes that Shelley if you really like that oh good how this was you know a lot of issues and this was a kid shared information to be very easy that this will look it is a great program performing a sex act and yet it's it's not just there is nothing new for me as you say that a little bit was right where it was a. Snack Shelly Rutledge with Salem Kaiser school district about 50 miles south of Portland Yeah you know it's the modern bright think about like you know having been an adolescent male It's a locker room talk of like hey you won't believe what happened last night only now there's a photo you might ever do that by the way. That you guys. The sex act selfie is a new wrinkle on an old problem for schools how to handle concerning sexual behavior the kind of stuff that makes adults cringe Can you talk about like how have schools dealt with these kinds of behaviors in the past generally through freaking out most commonly what happens is people just want to sweep things under the rug right I used to joke if I could teach administrators to say penis and vagina comfortably I'd be out of work because really a lot of it is being able to be comfortable having a sexual discussion with a family and a child about something that's going on it's hard it is. Phil Wilson advises school officials to respond to this behavior frankly and systematically starting as early as elementary school most inappropriate sexual behavior that occurs like prior to age 13 most of that is not going to be picked up by the criminal justice system and so what that means is that a lot of concern and sexual behaviors are just not being addressed by anyone anywhere at this point you're probably thinking elementary school Come on little kids do inappropriate things because they don't know what's appropriate yet let's say you've got a kindergartner who is you know rubbing their genitals can suggestion or that's a pretty common thing you run into in kindergartens if a teacher tells the child that's not Ok and the kid stops doing it problem solved but what if you've said please knock it off and the behavior continues that's when you really have a problem Wilson figures a school district with 40000 kids may face 150 to 200 cases a year like this that require a more calculated response that means more than disciplining the child or phoning home Wilson's approach activates a whole team to try and figure out what's going on the biggest fear that parents have when they come into those meetings is that someone is going to tell them their child is a pedophile right it's horrifying to think about that right and that doesn't occur in those meetings and that's not the purpose of those meetings the purpose he says is to better understand the behavior and figure out how to keep it from happening again that might mean more supervision for the student on the playground in the hallways in the bathroom Ideally this would protect other students from future harassment or of youth the school district from liability and the kid in trouble from being labeled an offender. The Forest Grove School District outside Portland started using Wilson's approach in January and then a straight on the district's sex. Incident Response committee gather in a conference room for a month we needed. They didn't confirm but usually I mean I'm assuming Vicki will be here because of this is what they call a level 2 meeting where the team deals with more serious cases and includes outside experts and even if. It's that the right to protect the privacy of the students involved the committee wouldn't let us sit in on most of this meeting but in an interview one member told us how it's going I think it's changed the way that we use administrators if you sexualized behavior Tammy Arion is an assistant principal at Forest Grove High School I feel like it's taken the burden of investigating and thoroughly processing the situations off of just one individual administrator say they're happy to share that burden there is no denying it can be tough to talk with parents about this stuff especially if their child has done something to another child I think you can have that conversation in a very caring way with parents to say you know this is really an opportunity for us to provide support for your son or daughter it's not just about protecting the victim it's really about providing supports for the student the offender Tami says figuring out what the right supports are means asking a lot of uncomfortable questions we ask parents if the students have ever been exposed to you know highly sexual behavior in their past has their Have they ever witnessed or been you know sexually abused domestic violence in the home will ask about if they've ever seen their child use coercion to get what they want then the team tailors a plan to fit the offense that may be as simple as making sure a teacher keeps an eye on the student screen this is a pretty common one as students who are you know in a perfectly accessing. We have to have teachers always in view of what a student is is viewing or the plan can be more labrat like making sure a victim and offender are not in the same classes. Or as Grove it's too early to know if the new approach is working honestly the public may never know people of every age under report sexual harassment and assault. School districts closely guarded information about sexual misbehavior because minors and the District's reputation are involved nobody wants to be the Sandy Hook of sexual misconduct how would you judge the effectiveness of the approach here's Wilson Kenny again that's really hard to do right because you can't evaluate the disaster that you forded there's no way to get at that right it's like . I think maybe the best you can do is you know by figuring out you know how many lives you're able to touch that's more than any school districts have been willing to do I have tried to remind people that this is nothing new no Most adults can probably remember incidents from their own childhoods that everyone just tried to pretend weren't happening Think back to your elementary school and middle school days we can remember the weird thing that happened at school. Person who seemed to have problems in their sexual behavior that no one did anything about so this isn't a problem with which weren't familiar it's one we try to forget about because it's unpleasant. We know it's hard to hear these kinds of stores so if you're left wondering what you can do we've got the a.p.c. List of suggestions on our website revealed News dot org Michael Montgomery was on the producer this week with producers Amy Walters and Katherine. Rangarajan system with. Our show's edited. Special thanks to associate. Press editor. And reporters Flaccus and Justin Pritchard a sound design team is the one to. Jay breeze Mr Jim Briggs and. With help from. Studios Krista Schaeffer Amy powers are editor in chief Suzanne rebore is our executive editor and our executive producers Kevin Sullivan theme music. Like support for reveals provided by the river and David Logan foundation for foundation the John MacArthur Foundation the John s. And James Knight Foundation Simons Foundation and the ethics of Excellence in Journalism foundation reveal is a co-production of the Center for Investigative Reporting and p r x m outlets and remember there is always more to the story. It's a movie for 5 now at k.q.e.d. And with a look at traffic it's back we start in San Jose one o one northbound and 882 vehicle rack with one overturned blocking the 2nd lane from the left as traffic backed up to make he and Walnut Creek $680.00 northbound a monument c.h.p. 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