BAKERSFIELD, CA - A civil case against the Kern High School District will continue Thursday.
Parents of a young, autistic woman claim their daughter was mentally damaged when she was sexually assaulted at school five years ago.
On Wednesday, the girl's stepmother and a teacher's aide took the stand.
The girl's stepmother says her daughter has changed since the attack. She told the jury and judge her daughter no longer touches or hugs boys or men, not even her father.
The incident happened in October 2009 at Independence High School. That's when a teacher's aide found the, then, 16-year-old autistic girl with an autistic boy, both with their pants down in the bathroom.
On Wednesday, the high school district's attorney showed the girl's stepmother pictures of her daughter after the attack, which show the girl smiling. But, her stepmother testified, not all of those smiles were genuine.
In fact, she said it seems in some, her daughter was agitated and it appeared she was told to pose.
The school contends expert psychologists say they cannot find the girl was damaged from the incident.
"This is a national precedent," said Ralph Wegis, attorney for the family. "This will be a road show on how to defend sexually assaulted autistic children cases, that it's harmless, that it means nothing, that it's o.k. to do this because it is without harm. And, this is critically important that it gets stopped right here because we have people that are in charge of these children that are putting forth this position. This attitude of this leadership that when our children are there, if they are sexually assaulted, it's harmless."
The aide who found the students in the bathroom testified Wednesday he did not consider the whining, crying sound he heard the girl making from the bathroom unusual. He said the, then, 16-year-old would make that sound a hundred times a day.
Again, the Kern High School District did not comment.
This case is expected to last three weeks.