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A large group of Texas parents protested outside of the administrative offices of the Plainview Independent School District, demanding answers about allegations that first-grade students forced a six-year-old girl to perform a sex act in the classroom.
According to the Plainview Herald, the parents of the girl received a phone call about the incident last month. School officials informed her mother that an inappropriate video was found on an iPad given to students. The officials did not tell her what was on the video.
After the phone call, she spoke to her daughter, who told her that boys in her class forced her to perform a sexual act while they filmed it with the iPad.
In a statement, the school said that the teacher was in the classroom working with other students at the time of the incident. The next day, the teacher discovered that students had locked one of the iPads with a password and filed a work order to have it unlocked. Once the device was unlocked, school officials discovered the video.
The school said that they notified authorities immediately and reached out to the parents of the students involved. The teacher has since been placed on administrative leave amid the investigation.
Parents are frustrated by the slow pace of the investigation and are demanding answers to know what the school is doing to keep their children safe.
"A six-year-old was exposed to things that even adults would have a hard time overcoming. This is trauma at its worst, and it is a trickle-down effect because it affects everyone around them," a parent at the protest told the Plainview Herald.
However, school officials stressed the importance of keeping information about the investigation under wraps.
"Respecting their privacy is of the utmost importance, and while the investigation is ongoing, we are limited in what we can share with the public. However, we do feel it is important to share what is allowable as CPS and law enforcement work through the investigation," the district said in a statement.