necn Investigates: School Admits Making Mistake on Handing Allegations of Sexual Assault

Boston Renaissance Charter Public School admitted it made a mistake with how it handled allegations of sexual assault of a young boy on November third.

According to Massachusetts regulations, charter schools must notify the Department of Primary and Secondary Education of any abuse allegations within two business days. The school failed to do so.

A spokesperson for the school told necn Investigates in a statement “the school notified the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education this week. It was an oversight that we have since corrected."

On Monday, allegations surfaced that a young boy was sexually assaulted on the school bus nearly three weeks prior. After the post went viral on Facebook, the school sent home a letter to parents saying it had followed “applicable state and federal legal guidelines in determining how to communicate with the families involved and the broader school community.”

A spokesperson told necn Investigates the children involved have been offered counseling.

The school did notify DCF and Boston Police about the alleged incident on November third.

The school will not be penalized by the state for failing to report the incident.

necn spoke with the mother of one alleged victim who says her son was molested a number of times.

"He said it happened more than 10 times," said the mother who does not want to be named. "As a mom, I lost it. My son was being touched on the bus by another child, that's 6-years-old. The kid wanted my son to play with his genitals and he wanted my son to play with his genitals also. He mentioned a lot of grabbing of the buttocks."

The mother said the boy, who is now under investigation, also made threats against her son.

"He made mention that there were guns at his house and if he was going to say anything that he was going to kill me."

Even though the alleged incident took place on a Boston Public School bus, the charter school is handling the investigation independently.

The bus driver has been placed on paid administrative leave as a precaution.

Renaissance will hold a meeting on Monday to update all parents on the investigation.

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