Holland Christian denies protecting rapist

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Court documents show Holland Christian Schools denied any wrongdoing in its response to a federal lawsuit alleging the district failed to protect a student from her rapist.

The district's response to the federal complaint was filed last week. The student's parents filed the suit in April, alleging her then-17-year-old ex-boyfriend was given special treatment by the district. He was never expelled. Instead, he was allowed to finish his last semester "remotely" and continue taking part in a choir group on campus.

The district's response denies several allegations laid out in the suit, but did admit the district did not have a formal Title IX policy in place while handling the situation.

One allegation detailed in the student's lawsuit: High School Principal Darryl De Ruiter "minimized" the rape by describing it as "underage sex."

"Defendant denies that the situation was 'minimized' but that De Ruiter accurately summarized that the criminal charge which was being brought did not include elements of force or violence," the district's attorney wrote in the response.

FULL STORY: WOOD TV


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