The parents of a special education student have filed a lawsuit against the Northwestern School Corporation in Howard County with claims that the child was sexually assaulted multiple times at the school.

The family filed the lawsuit in Howard Superior Court 1. It says that the child was assaulted more than 20 times in a school restroom during band class in the fall of 2023.

The lawsuit also states that in 2024, the child was given coursework that contained depictions of sexual assault.

The complaint mentions Superintendent Kristen Bilkey, Principal Tim Shoaff and multiple other staff members as defendants in the case and says they didn’t investigate the claims of sexual abuse and failed to provide proper supervision to prevent these incidents from happening.

According to the complaint, the student has autism, a language impairment and an intellectual disability.

The family has also sued for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. They said the victim was frequently hospitalized before being completely removed from the school.

Attorneys Tammy Meyer and Catherine Michael are representing the family who filed the suit.