Former students sue NY School for the Deaf, allege sexual abuse (ASL – 10.18.19)

Transcript

Twelve women have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of New York against the New York School for the Deaf in White Plains, New York, also known as Fanwood.

The women claim while they were students in the 1960s and 70s, a former dorm supervisor sexually abused them in several areas of their dorm on a daily basis.

The supervisor died sometime in the early 2000s.

However because of the New York Child Victims Act, which was signed into law in February of this year, survivors of child sexual abuse can pursue criminal felony charges until they turn twenty-eight and file a civil lawsuit before age 55.

The lawsuit names the school, members of the school’s Board of Trustees at the time of the alleged assaults and the New York State Education Department as defendants.

The lawsuit claims they were all negligent in caring for students.

One of the victims says many of the alleged victims did report the alleged abuse to the school administration but that the dorm supervisor wasn’t fired until a group of graduated students complained in 1979.

The alleged victims are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

The amount would be determined by a jury.

An attorney representing the school said the school is “doing everything it can to research the facts and respond to the allegations.”

The Closed Caption version of this video can be found here: https://sign1news.com/2019/10/18/sign1news-10-18-19/

Sign1News is the first and only digital network, partnered with world news leader CNN, to offer on-line news and information in American Sign Language. Sign1News provides equal access to local, regional and national news and information to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community via a daily post-produced broadcast. Sign1News: Your Life. Your Language.