The Chartiers Valley School District faces a lawsuit over the alleged sexual assault of a student in 2018.

Attorney Amy Mathieu filed this lawsuit against the district regarding the alleged sexual assault in 2018. The attorney said her client is now 16 years old, and this happened at Chartiers Valley Intermediate School when the girl was 8 years old. 

"It's important at early stages of this harassment that that's the appropriate time to step in and do something. We're now at a stage where that's too late," Mathieu said.

The district is accused of failing to take the proper steps to protect the girl when she was in third grade. 

"My client, 8 years old, starts being sexually harassed by a male student at the school, in her class," Mathieu said. "He's making comments that you wouldn't expect a third grader to make toward her. She is incredibly uncomfortable."

The attorney claims that the victim was also scared because she was threatened with violence by the alleged perpetrator and told not to speak out. But Mathieu said the girl's parents met with school leadership, and the reported harasser was placed in a different classroom.

"They moved him to the one right next to the plaintiff, where he still had access to her every single day during those class periods," Mathieu said. "And as far as we know, the teacher was never instructed to keep them separate."

The district said it can't say much due to pending litigation, but the solicitor said, in part:

"The District is conducting a thorough review of the facts and circumstances surrounding this matter from 2018 and will respond appropriately through the proper legal channels."

Mathieu said her client, who is now in high school, is forever changed.   

"People need to process their trauma before they can actually explain it to other people a lot of times," the attorney said. "She doesn't know if she could go away from home. She has lost trust in adults to protect her."