Mother sues CCSD in connection with photos taken of student’s genitals

A mother has filed a lawsuit against the Clark County School District for an incident in which she says a fellow student took photos of her child’s genitals and shared them with other students.

In the complaint she also accused the teachers and administrators of redistributing the photos around to each other. As a result, she said, the child experienced heightened anxiety and did not return to school for the rest of his semester, nor did he attend his eighth grade graduation.

The complaint was filed on Sept. 6 by Bobby Steele on behalf of a middle school-aged student — referred to in the complaint as “C.S.” — whom Steele said is on the autism spectrum and has verbal disabilities. He also has an individualized learning plan with CCSD to help with disabilities, of which the complaint states his school, Martin Middle School, was aware.

The complaint asks for in excess of $15,000 for general damages, and special damages in excess of $15,000 for medical care and treatment for the student, who is said to have experienced increased emotional turmoil because of the incident.

The student has a habit of taking his pants down to his ankles when he uses a urinal, a habit of which his school was aware, the complaint states.

On March 4, another student came into the bathroom while C.S. was in there and called out his name, causing him to to turn around and expose his genitals, the complaint states. The student then took photos of C.S. with his pants down and genitals exposed, and shared them on a group chat and/or social media to people, according to the complaint.

Steele said it is unclear how many people have seen the photos.

“This is a classic example of a student being treated like an object,” Sam Castor, the managing partner at Lex Tecnica, the law firm representing Steele, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

No adults were present during the incident, according to the complaint. It says that a specialized teacher assistant is supposed to accompany and monitor students with special needs when needed.

“This neglect was in violation of the safety protocols applicable to C.S.,” the complaint states.

It also states that he was not in any special needs restroom, and Steele was not aware of any such restroom in the school.

“Had there been such a specially designated restroom at the School, C.S. would have in all likelihood been more protected from the violation of his rights described hereinafter,” the complaint states.

The incident, the complaint states, was not the first time the school district had become aware of potential bullying and harassment of the student while in the restroom. His habit of unclothing to urinate had been reported both to and by CCSD at least three times, the complaint states.

When he first began school, Steele said she told school officials and staff of his habit of dropping his pants.

On Nov. 8, 2023, a teacher called Steele to express concern about C.S.’s habit of removing his clothing because she was afraid other students may take advantage of him and take pictures or videos and share them. She said she wanted to discuss the importance of properly training him regarding his bathroom habits. The teacher also assured her that she and others at the school were already making efforts to address this issue, the complaint states.

Teachers send around

After one of the students in the group chat told a teacher about the incident, multiple teachers and administrators viewed the photos and forwarded them to each other, according to the complaint. The officer who investigated the case ensured the photos were deleted from “certain phones,” it states. He also reprimanded a teacher for redistributing them, according to the complaint.

The Review-Journal is not naming the teachers because they are not defendants in the case. The law firm states that it reserves the right to amend the complaint should they find out more information, as anyone who posesses child pornography is liable.

Erv Nelson, an attorney on the case, said he could not assume what the teachers’ motivations were for sharing the photos.

“At this point, we don’t really know a lot of the facts to say these are the motives,” he told the Review-Journal. “Those are the facts and details we’ll hopefully find out.”

Neither Steele nor her child has seen the photos, according to the complaint.

“We feel like the school district is legally responsible for the actions and failures to act of its employees, its personnel,” Nelson said.

CCSD declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Impact on student

After the school called Steele to tell her of the incident, she and the student went to the school for a meeting the following day.

During the meeting, the student “became extremely agitated which was evidenced by his tightly gripping Plaintiff’s arm, moving around uncomfortably, moaning, being unable to sit still and otherwise acting upset,” according to the complaint.

While the complaint states he was unable to convey his feelings, Steele understood that he was “deeply mortified, ashamed, injured and damaged mentally and emotionally.”

Nelson said it has been difficult to find out what exactly occurred, given the student’s verbal difficulties.

The student refused to return to school for the rest of the semester, began having trouble sleeping or enjoying typical daily activities and did not attend his eighth grade graduation ceremony.

“By subjecting this minor C.S. to ongoing physical and psychological abuse, CCSD has caused C.S. to have been unable to enjoy the benefits of an education,” the complaint states.

He now attends Stewart Autism School but still has anxiety, and Steele has to comfort him and encourage him to attend school, according to the complaint.

“It’s traumatizing,” Castor said.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.