SPRINGFIELD — A Stonington couple filed a lawsuit in federal court in Springfield on June 17 against the Taylorville school district and a school bus company that serves the district over the sexual abuse of their daughter at the hands of another district student.
The lawsuit was filed by Ashley and Chadd Peden on behalf of their minor daughter.
The couple alleged in 2024 that a 14-year-old eighth grade boy sexually assaulted their daughter, then 10 and in fifth grade, over the course of a week on a school bus and at a bus stop.
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According to the suit, the perpetrator forced his hand into the girl’s underpants and committed acts of digital penetration of her vagina and anus while she was cornered within a school bus seat and rubbed his hands outside of her private areas.
The acts continued over a week and also included other acts of fondling the girl.
The boy told her he would hurt her and the girl’s family if she told anyone, the suit alleged.
The school district eventually placed the boy in an alternative school, but had attempted to re-enroll him in Taylorville Junior High School at the beginning of the academic year.
Peden is a District 186 teacher in Springfield.
The suit alleges the district and the bus company, Durham School Services, “failed to take appropriate action” to protect the Pedens’ daughter who suffered “severe emotional distress and psychological trauma requiring ongoing therapeutic treatment as a result.”
The couple’s cause was taken up by State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, who filed legislation in the Senate.
Illinois law didn’t have provisions requiring schools to expel a student who commits sexual violence or assault against another student at school, according to a Capitol News Illinois report.
“We have laws where a student gets expelled for bringing a weapon on school grounds, but what about cases like this, when the student’s body is the weapon?” Ashley Peden said in January. “This boy continuously brought his weapon to school on the bus and to the bus stop. This is not acceptable. This is not ensuring safety for all students.”
McClure’s bill was never sent to a committee by Democratic leadership.
The couple is being defended by Disparti Law Group.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Lawsuit filed against Taylorville school district after daughter sexually abused