- A lawsuit against the Mason Public School District alleges the son of two prominent Ingham County Officials, sexually assaulted a female student on two occasions in Mason Middle school in may of 2022.
- According to the lawsuit, the Mason School Board expelled the accused student for his 9th-grade year. About six months later, he filed for reinstatement via his parents, which was approved with a "no contact order" between the male and female student.
- Watch to see how students and parents are responding to the reinstatement of the male student
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
A group of parents addressed the Mason School Board during a meeting Thursday night about the decision to reinstate a student who was expelled for sexual assault.
"I do not feel safe going to school like I used to," said Claire Enstrom.
Claire Enstrom is a Mason Public School student and said Thursday that recent events in the district have made her feel unsafe attending school. Those concerns stem from a law suit against the district alleging that the son of two prominent Ingham County Officials sexually assaulted a female student on two occasions in a school in May of 2022. Then, a title 9 investigation into the alleged sexual assaults was started May 27th 2022.
"It's really infuriating as a sexual assault survivor to have the Mason School District fail us this way, My daughter is at school, I'm terrified to send her every single day," said Mason student parent Sarah Enstrom.
The lawsuit states that a TITLE IX investigation determined the assault to be quote "severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive," and suggested the accused student, an 8th grader at the time of the alleged incident, be expelled from the district for violating school district policy and Michigan law.
According to the lawsuit, the Mason School Board expelled the accused student for his 9th-grade year. About six months later, he filed for reinstatement via his parents, which was approved with a "no contact order" between the male and female student. However, this is still in violation of the personal protection order that was reinstated by an Ingham county judge in 2024.
This decision has some parent questioning the schools intentions.
"Bringing back this student with a PPO against him is giving the message that you don't care about the victim. You're telling us the boys education is more important than the girls," said another concerned parent.
The girl's mother is suing the Mason School District, the high school principal and assistant principal, and the boy's parents saying the girl has suffered "significant distress."
We reached out to the district but they declined to comment.
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
