An Oklahoma mother filed a lawsuit against her daughter’s school district after the teenage girl was allegedly “severely beaten” by a biological boy in the girls’ restroom.
What’s the background?
In October, a biological boy who identifies as transgender was accused of entering a girls’ restroom at Edmond Memorial High School and brutally attacking two female students.
The alleged attacker, identified only as “A” in the police report, was charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct.
According to authorities, one of the female students had sustained head and face injuries, as well as swelling around her eyes and “several red areas” on her face.
Police said a second female victim sustained injuries to her “eye, face, and head with a possible concussion.”
A witness told officers that one of the victims was hit repeatedly, stating that the biological boy “knocked her out clean on the floor.”
Under Oklahoma law, students and staff are required to use restrooms that align with their biological sex. Students who identify as transgender and refuse to comply with the policy must use “a single-occupancy restroom or changing room.”
Parent files lawsuit
Last week, Theresa Gooden, the mother of 15-year-old “E.G.,” filed a lawsuit against the school district.
According to Gooden, her daughter was “attacked and severely beaten” in the girls’ restroom by a 17-year-old biological boy who claims to be transgender.
Gooden said the altercation left E.G. with “severe physical and mental injuries, severe physical and mental pain and suffering, and severe emotional distress.”
Her lawsuit does not mention the other alleged female victim.
She accused the school of failing to comply with state law that should have prevented the transgender student from accessing the girls’ facilities.
Gooden’s lawsuit stated that the student was even removed from the school campus several days before the attack after the teen threatened E.G.
In a December statement provided to KOKH-TV, the school district claimed it was unaware that the alleged attacker was transgender.
“The student’s birth gender was unknown to school administrators. The student began attending school just days before the incident. The student’s parent enrolled them as a female and the student presented as female. The family did not provide a birth certificate at the time of the enrollment but assured Edmond Memorial High School personnel that the documentation was forthcoming,” the district stated.
Gooden’s lawsuit claims that her daughter alerted the assistant principal, Maryjel Cochrane, about the student’s gender identity but that the school continued to allow the student to use the girls’ restroom.
A couple of months after the attack, Superintendent Dr. Angela Grunewald informed parents that the transgender student was no longer attending the school and that “consequences were given” for the restroom policy violation.
Edmond Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the New York Post reported.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!