School: Videos of unwanted sexual contact aren’t harassment

NASHVILLE – Lawyers for metro-Nashville’s public schools say it’s not sexual harassment when students share secretly recorded videos of unwanted sexual encounters and then bully the victims.

The Tennessean is reporting on lawsuits by parents of four girls who say they were pressured into sexual contact and then taunted when students shared the videos.

U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger denied the district’s dismissal request last month, finding “ample evidence” that officials knew of harassment, including the circulation of videos, and failed to protect students. In just four years, the district documented 45 sexual assaults, 218 inappropriate sexual contacts, 950 instances of sexual harassment and 1,200 instances of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

Trauger also invited an appellate decision, writing that Title IX case law never contemplated the modern dangers of electronic communications.

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Information from: The Tennessean, http://www.tennessean.com