HONOLULU — Families of sexual assault victims claim the Department of Education was aware of the assaults at the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind years before a criminal investigation was conducted.
As many as half of the children attending the school may have encountered unwanted sexual contact with other students, according to Michael Green, an attorney for the victims, KHON 2 reports. Police have made several arrests of juvenile males suspected of assaulting classmates as young as preteens.
Green said he had heard from families with cases as far back as 2006, and has a letter from the Department of Education to one of the victim’s parents from 2009 addressing the abuse.
However, Honolulu police confirm that they began investigating the school only this year.
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