A second-grade girl at the Osborn School was sexually abused and bullied by a male classmate over a span of at least several months, while the school’s administrators did little to stop it, the young girl’s parents claimed.
The girl was in first grade at Osborn when the bullying began in June 2023. Her parents learned of the problem and the children’s teacher and lunch monitors were made aware of the harassment, which continued, the recent court filing alleged.
Things only got worse when the girl entered second grade that September after she was again placed in the same classroom as the alleged perpetrator, according to her parents’ suit. There were five second grade classes at Osborn that year.
The girl’s parents told the second-grade teacher about the bullying and the teacher spoke to the boy. But the girl’s parents complained again in October and the teacher informed the boy’s mother that the bullying had allegedly continued.
That teacher also began to keep the two students apart in the classroom “because she recognized the severity” of the boy’s behavior, court documents claimed.
But the boy “escalated his misconduct to a dangerous level” that fall and began touching the girl “inappropriately” multiple times on school grounds, including while their class was in the library, according to the filing.
The boy also allegedly told the girl not to tell anyone about the sexual contact, the May lawsuit filed in Westchester County Supreme Court contended.
At some point before the end of 2023 and before the girl’s parents became aware of the alleged sexual abuse, the girl reported the incidents to Osborn School counselor Emma McCabe, according to the court filing.
But McCabe, the lawsuit claimed, failed to notify administrators and either the girl’s or boy’s families — instead advising the girl on how to respond if the harassment continued.
“In a textbook example of blaming a victim, McCabe advised [the girl] of ways that she might handle this situation were it to arise again, negligently placing the burden squarely on [the girl] to resolve the issue rather than immediately acting to ensure it did not happen again,” the girl’s parents’ suit contended.
The girl ultimately told her parents about the unwanted sexual contact on Jan. 17, 2024, the lawsuit said. When the girl’s parents confronted McCabe the next day, they claimed, she confirmed that their daughter had reported the abuse to her and acknowledged that she had not taken any action.
On Jan. 19, 2024, the parents met with Osborn School principal Angela Garcia, who admitted that McCabe had not followed protocol by failing to report the “inappropriate touching,” the filing alleged.
The girl’s parents are seeking $1 million in damages from the Rye City School District. On Monday the judge in the case, Alexandra Murphy, ordered that any settlement amount not be publicly disclosed.
Photo courtesy Google Maps
The girl “has suffered physically, psychologically, emotionally, and academically, and has been forced to either remain at home to the increasing detriment of her psychological, emotional, academic, and social development, or attend an unsafe school environment,” the lawsuit said.
According to her LinkedIn profile, McCabe — who is not a named defendant in the lawsuit — joined the Osborn School in September 2023, the same school year the bullying allegedly escalated to sexual abuse. Before that, she worked as a school counselor in both New Jersey and Wisconsin and was previously a child autism treatment technician and an English teacher.
McCabe, who earned her bachelor’s in 2013 and a master’s in school counseling in 2020, is still listed online as the Osborn School’s counselor.
She did not respond to The Record’s request for comment.
Both children’s identities are being withheld in court filings — they are listed as “Minor 1” and “Minor 2” — due to their age, and the teachers referred to were not identified. The girl’s parents were identified in the lawsuit, but The Record is not disclosing their names to protect the identity of their child.
The Rye City School District’s lawyer, Gary Intoccia of McGivney, Kluger Clark & Intoccia, declined to comment on the litigation. But a spokesperson for the district said, “The safety and welfare of students is always our highest priority.”
The lawsuit calls the school district negligent for allegedly failing to prevent repeated bullying and unwanted sexual contact and for not “properly” investigating the misconduct, the court filing read.
The school also failed to suspend the boy for his actions and allowed him to remain in the same classroom as the alleged victim while the district investigated the matter, according to the lawsuit.
It is unclear what the outcome of that investigation was. It is also unclear if either student is still enrolled at the Osborn School.
The young girl, however, now receives mental health counseling as a result of the ordeal, according to her parents.
The lawyer for the girl’s family, Jason Swergold of Yankwitt LLP, declined comment.
