16-Year-Old Girl Says She Was Raped On Yale Model UN Trip, Sues Private Day School
The civil suit implicates three parties: the boy, his father - a chaperone on the trip - and The Benjamin School, the girl's attorney Jeff Herman told BI.
The plaintiff, only identified as "Jane Doe No. 40," is a 16-year-old girl from Westchester County, N.Y, according to the complaint.
She was participating in the Yale Model United Nations trip this January when she befriended the boy, Herman says. She voluntarily went into his hotel room twice, according to the complaint. The second time, the complaint says, he held her down "against her will, ignored her pleas for him to stop, committing, among other things, digital and penile-vaginal and forcible oral sex."
Then he allegedly bragged to others at the conference that he'd videotaped the entire thing.
As a chaperone on the trip, the boy's father was "personally responsible for the supervision and control of the children," the complaint says. The girl's lawyer says the school is liable for the rape, too, since the boy's father was acting as a representative of the school.
"The Benjamin School is a highly respected school down here in Florida. This just goes to show you that sexual abuse can occur regardless of class, race, or religion. We need to enforce safety regulations all the time," Herman told BI.
The alleged rape has also been reported to the New Haven Police Department in Connecticut, according to Kayla Repan, media director for Herman Law.
A lawyer for the boy's father told the Palm Beach Post that his client denies the allegations. The Benjamin School released this statement posted by WPTV:
"We have just received a copy of the lawsuit and are investigating the allegations. I cannot comment further at this time except to say that the Benjamin School is fully committed to a secure and safe environment for every member of our school community," said Robert Goldberg, Head of School at the Benjamin School.