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Court hears lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse at Urbandale Middle School

Online Niel October 30, 2024

DES MOINES, Iowa — An Urbandale couple has filed a lawsuit against the Urbandale School District after they say their daughter was sexually abused during a middle school English class in 2018.

Michael and Jodi Safris filed a lawsuit seeking damages for their daughter’s time at Urbandale Middle School. They say the district failed to adhere to its own policies and caused their daughter to kill herself.

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According to the lawsuit, Safris’ daughter sent nude pictures of herself to a male colleague. The student became upset after the Safris’ daughter refused to go out with him, so he sent the nude pictures to friends. During Tuesday’s trial, the prosecution also alleged that the student’s friends were looking at the photos during school hours.

“(The male student) went to school and distributed all the nude photos of (the female student) to his friends,” said prosecutor Cory Gourley. “The other boys in the school, they really looked at them and opened up in the school.”

During the trial, the Urbandale school district’s attorney argued that there was no evidence that Safris’ daughter reported the alleged sexual abuse.

“The evidence will also show that she did not report any of this bullying and harassment to anyone,” said Janice Thomas, attorney for Urbandale schools.

The trial will include expert witnesses who are expected to testify about the harm Safris’ daughter suffered. The process is expected to take about 10 days.