‘They victimized my child.’ Sparrow Bush mom shares concerns about alleged sexual assault in Port Jervis schools
Erin Witkowski’s 7-year-old is a second grader at Hamilton Bicentennial Elementary School, where she says the incident happened last November.
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A Sparrow Bush mom is speaking out about her concerns with the Port Jervis City School District after she says her elementary student was sexually assaulted by another student in school.
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Erin Witkowski’s 7-year-old is a second grader at Hamilton Bicentennial Elementary School, where she says the incident happened last November.
“When he got off the bus, I immediately knew something was wrong. His whole demeanor was different,” says Witkowski. “His voice was crackling. He was upset to have to tell me something.”
Witkowski says the vice principal in charge that day, Justin Karram, who is also the school’s Dignity Act coordinator, never alerted her to the situation. Instead, she says found out from her son and state police who she claims were called by the school social worker.
“They victimized my child, putting him back in the classroom immediately. A child should have time apart from the situation to process something. They revictimized him by him having to be the one to tell yet another adult, to have to take the bus home," says Witkowski.
The mother recently shared about their ordeal on social media and says she feels the incident is being handled improperly by the district.
Port Jervis Superintendent John Bell says the district fully investigated the matter and appropriate administrative action was taken.
Witkowski disagrees and started an online petition about her concerns that calls for Karam’s termination and has more than 1,000 signatures.
“We were robbed the right to not only be there for our child, to go in and tend to him the way we know best,” Witkowski says. “The school is in charge of our children, but we are the ones that know our children the best.”
State police say no charges were filed and the case is closed.
