Riverside school of deaf says student allegedly raped by campus sex club was at fault

WEST LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- In response to a lawsuit claiming a student was the victim of an alleged school sex club, a Riverside boarding school for the deaf said Wednesday the boy was at fault.

Parents of the 13-year-old sued the California School for the Deaf after their son was allegedly raped and drugged by the alleged club at the campus.

"My son was raped. He was forced to participate in oral sex," said Geneva White-Sosanya, the victim's mother.

Back in August, Geneva and Tunde Sosanya said the school notified them of the incident three months after their deaf son was showing signs of stress, nightmares and was acting out.

The family said, at the time, the young teen was uneducated about sex.

Lawyers for the state-run boarding school denied all allegations that the school failed to supervise the students at night, and said they knew nothing about an alleged bully organizing a so-called "school sex club."

Candice Klein-Pereira, representing the alleged victim, said the school has evidence that in 2013 a small gang was forcing students to perform sex acts.

"These boys have testified already in the investigation that they had interacted with each other and had these exchanges over a hundred times," said Klein-Pereira. "You just have to wonder where are the teachers? Where is anyone?"

The California Department of Education, which runs the school, said in a statement Wednesday that they are unable to comment on the case due to the pending lawsuit.

When Eyewitness News first covered the exclusive story in August, the department stated: "...We reviewed our policies and practices, conducted additional staff training, and implemented additional procedures that provide even more safeguards for students."

The parent's lawyer points to more troubles in the court papers as the school continues to blame the boy for what happened.

One of the documents read in part: "Plaintiff knew of the dangers... exposed himself to all risks."

The parent's lawyer said they are seeking more witnesses to back their claims.