Mom Claims School Neglect Led Daughter to Be Sex-Trafficked

sex-trafficked

A brave mom is suing the school that led to her teen daughte being sex-trafficked. A recent lawsuit has been filed against Appomattox County Public School District in Virginia, accusing the school of hiding the transition of a 14-year-old student from female to male. This caused the child to run away and eventually be sex trafficked. The ability of public schools to hide what is happening in our children’s lives is an incredibly serious issue that deserves attention.

The student, Sage Blair, was being bullied for dressing as a boy at school, yet despite this knowledge, the school withheld information about her transition from her parents. Unaware of what was happening with their daughter, she ran away and ended up in the hands of a sex trafficker who took her to Washington DC, and the Baltimore area where she was drugged and raped by multiple men.

After being recovered by the FBI, Baltimore public defender Aneesa Khan told Judge Robert Kershaw that Sage had suffered emotional and physical abuse from her parents which caused her to feel unsafe at home.

Based on these false statements Sage was kept in Maryland under temporary custody of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services where she endured further trauma after being placed in a group home with teenage boys. Sage had not received any form of therapy or medical care after being sex-trafficked and the physical assaults she endured in the group home. She also reported that Khan instructed her to lie about her situation with her family so they could “win” their case.

Sage’s mother is now suing Appomattox County Public School District seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney fees and costs for their negligence leading up to the tragedy of her daughter being sex-trafficked.

It is unacceptable for students who are transitioning genders not to be given proper education on how best to handle such changes. What is especially overlooked by many in educational institutions and also at home is the mental health of the child who is seeking to transition. Withholding information and not seeking the proper help in this instance resulted in a young teen being sex-trafficked and then used in a state-run scheme to keep her away from her family. We must ensure that all members of society – including children – are protected from harm no matter their gender identity or expression.

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