Court hears lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse at Urbandale Middle School

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

Michael and Jodi Safris have filed a lawsuit seeking damages for their daughter’s time at Urbandale Middle School. They say the district failed to follow its own policies and led to their daughter becoming suicidal.

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According to the lawsuit, the Safris’ daughter sent nude photos of herself to a fellow male student. The male student became angry after the Safris’ daughter refused to go out with him, so he sent the nude photos to friends. During Tuesday’s trial, Safris’ lawyer also alleged that the male student’s friends looked at the photos during school hours.

“(The male student) went to school and he distributed all the nude photos of (the female student) to his friends,” said attorney Cory Gourley. “The other boys at school were really openly watching them in the school.”

During the trial, the attorney for the Urbandale School District argued that there was no evidence that the Safris’ daughter reported the alleged sexual abuse.

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

The trial will feature experts who are expected to testify about the damage Safris’ daughter suffered. The process is expected to take about ten days.

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