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GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A rally is planned Thursday outside of the Gwinnett County Board of Education in support of a victim of an alleged sexual assault.
Adele Kimmel, an attorney for a former Peachtree Ridge High School student, says the female student was sexually assaulted by another student inside the school last year. Kimmel said the school system should have done more.
"Sexual assault victims should be supported not blamed. And when schools, like Peachtree Ridge, punish students who report sexual assault, they further traumatize them and that should've never happened. She was suspended shortly after she reported the sexual assault before there was a hearing," Kimmel said.
Gwinnett County Public Schools contend it conducted a prompt and thorough investigation. A spokesperson also said the school interviewed all parties involved.
A statement to FOX 5 read in part:
"After several days of investigation, the local school made a decision based on a preponderance of the evidence that the accused and the accuser both violated school rules and that the accuser had not been the victim of a sexual assault."
Kimmel said the victim and her family have filed a federal complaint against the school system.
She also said she plans to meet with Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter this week to pursue criminal charges against the accused.