RPS investigation: ‘Not enough evidence’ that student assault happened at preschool

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - A Richmond mother says she’s not giving up on getting justice for her 5-year-old little girl, who she says was sexually assaulted at Blackwell Preschool in January.

That mother’s defiance comes after Richmond Public Schools says its internal investigation couldn’t find enough evidence to show that the assault happened on school property. School board member Jonathan Young has read the report.

“There was a lot in the report, but I can tell you what there was not and what there was not anything that would lead me to think that the incident didn’t materialize or transpire in the way it’s been reported,” Young said.

Shayla Roberts says her daughter was assaulted in a school bathroom in January. She says nurses at Chippenham Hospital determined her little girl’s injuries were consistent with a sexual assault.

Roberts made multiple pleas to school leaders for answers and justice. That prompted investigations by the school system and Richmond police. It also led to Blackwell Preschool’s principal resigning.

Roberts says the RPS report is missing critical information, including a forensic interview her daughter did with police.

She says she will continue to fight for her child, but right now, she doesn’t know what that will look like.

Meanwhile, Young is nervous about what this precedent could mean for other RPS students. He says many of them don’t feel safe in the school system.

”Other people aren’t trusting us to keep their children safe, and we’re not adequately doing that in Richmond Public Schools,” Young stated.

Richmond police also investigated this case and said that the commonwealth’s attorney made no criminal charges in the case. The RPD investigation has since concluded.

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