School Bullies Force Trans Boy to Expose Genitals, Police Yawn

Police and school district sweep sexual assault under the rug

As reported in many media outlets, including The Los Angeles Blade, bullies have been openly tormenting a transgender boy at Berlin High School in Wisconsin. Berlin students say their friend, who wishes to be identified only as Lucas, has been the subject of frequent taunts and slurs, adding that anti-LGBTQ bullying at the school is pervasive, severe, and mostly tolerated by teachers and administrators.

They’re going to hear our voices. They’re going to listen to us. And they’re going to do something about it. — Student leader Amber Olmstead

At the beginning of this month, Lucas’s bullies crossed the line to criminal acts, but local police appear to be protecting them

Lucas says a group of boys crowded him into a restroom stall on two separate occasions, taunting him as they forced him to pull down his pants, lift his shirt, and expose his genitals to them. Reportedly, one of the bullies filmed from outside the stall on the second occasion.

Lucas kept quiet at first, crying in class but too afraid to speak up. After friends encouraged him, he reported the criminal bullying to school administrators, who reported it to the Berlin Police Department. That’s when the story takes a bizarre twist, so bizarre I phoned a civil rights attorney yesterday to get his legal take.

Any police officer or prosecutor worth their salt would criminally charge people who bullied a kid into pulling down their pants down in public.

More on that phone call in a second. First, the facts. The Berlin Police say they conducted an investigation and interviewed several witnesses. Within days, they published a statement that shocked many Berlin High School students and some faculty:

On Thursday, November 4, 2021, a Berlin High School student reported to school authorities that they had been assaulted in one of the high school restrooms.

Upon being notified, School Administration immediately reported the allegation to the Berlin Police Department. An investigation was immediately launched into the allegation in cooperation with the department’s investigative unit. After multiple interviews and examining the associated evidence of the alleged assault, our investigation discovered no physical assault or attack against the alleged victim took place.

When I first saw the police statement, I felt disappointed not enough evidence existed to prove assault, but something about the wording felt “off,” so I read again with closer attention. That’s when I realized why Lucas’s friends were so shocked, and that’s when I decided to call my lawyer friend.

Before I write about that call, let me tell you what else Berlin students say they’re angry about. They say every student at the high school knows the identity of the boys who assaulted Lucas. They say teachers and administrators know too. But school officials have taken neither disciplinary action against the boys nor any steps to ensure safety for LGBTQ students. In fact, after more than 50 kids walked out of school to call out administrators’ inaction, the school district released an apathetic statement that didn’t even mention transgender or LGBTQ students:

The Berlin Area School District is aware of a student walkout in response to allegations of a student assault at the high school. The Berlin Area School District is committed to the success of all students in a safe learning environment and we take such allegations seriously. The school district is cooperating with local law enforcement who are investigating this situation. The district is also conducting its own investigation. Because of the ongoing investigations, the district is unable to provide additional details at this time.

Amber Olmstead, the Berlin High School student who organized the walkout, told WGBA-TV 26 that students are fed up with administrators tolerating anti-LGBTQ bullying:

“We told them we’re not backing down this time. They’re going to hear our voices. They’re going to listen to us. And they’re going to do something about it.”

She and other students met with administrators in the days following the protest, but as of today, the school district has released nothing more than their original anodyne statement and failed to announce any policies to protect LGBTQ students targeted by bullies. Students say Lucas’s bullies have still received no discipline even though everyone at school knows exactly who they are.

The Berlin Police are lying by telling a partial truth

The police are not saying lack of evidence prevents them from bringing charges. Read their statement carefully. They’re saying unambiguously that no assault took place. They’re saying no matter how much evidence they’ve already collected or might collect in the future, the facts do not support allegations of criminal assault.

I picked up the phone yesterday and reached out to an attorney friend with a busy civil rights practice in Detroit. I asked him if the Berlin Police were legally correct to affirm nobody assaulted Lucas. Here’s a partial transcript of our call, starting with my question a couple minutes in:

— Are you kidding me? I mean, you agree no assault took place even if the facts are as alleged?

— No, Jim. I’m saying I don’t know. I’m not a criminal lawyer and I don’t practice in Wisconsin, but that’s what the Berlin Police are saying in their statement, so it’s probably true to some degree.

— That’s crazy! How could forcing a kid to strip almost naked not be criminal?

— Of course it’s criminal! It just might not be simple assault as defined in Wisconsin statutes, though I suspect it would be in Michigan. This police statement … is so troubling because it looks like the police are lying by telling a partial truth. Any police officer or prosecutor … worth their salt would criminally charge people who bullied a kid into pulling down their pants down in public ... whether the charge was assault or something else. Off the top of my head, child pornography charges might stick. As long as enough evidence backed up the allegations, of course.

— What would you do if you were Lucas or their parent?

— I’d call Lambda Legal and the ACLU. They live for cases like this. I’d threaten to sue the pants off the Berlin Police Department and the school district. If it takes 50 kids walking out of school to get an incident this serious taken seriously, then…

— What would you do if this was your case?

So okay, I don’t specialize in LGBTQ school stuff, but if it were me and my firm, we’d probably go after the district for clear … Title IX violations. If what these student organizers are claiming is even remotely true, then the district faces substantial monetary liability, which I’d explain in terms that would rocket them off their asses. But you know that’s how I roll.

Anti-LGBTQ bullying is on the rise in U.S. schools, and this case shows how apathy can drive the problem

The Trevor Project just released a comprehensive survey that shows over half of LGBTQ students in the U.S. face significant bullying, with rates rising rather than falling over the last 4 years. Rates of LGBTQ teenagers considering suicide (already several times higher than among their cis/straight peers) have risen dramatically this year, and Trevor Project research points to rising bullying rates as one cause. (Researchers cite increasing political rancor as another.)

Students at Berlin High School, located in a predominantly conservative, mostly rural community, say they face as much adult hostility over LGBTQ issues as they do apathy in the face of bullying. Students are angry about both, but they aren’t surprised.

I’m not either.

Taken together, the actions of the school district and the police department appear to be a coordinated effort to sweep a serious criminal sexual assault under the rug. Thanks to Amber Olmstead and other student activists — and especially thanks to Lucas for stepping forward and allowing his first name and photo to be published — the district and the police department will likely be held accountable … this time.

But around the U.S., especially in rural areas like Berlin, LGBTQ students face active hostility from bullies and struggle to find support from the adults who are charged to keep them safe.

As a newly released paper in JAMA Pediatrics has demonstrated, “sue the pants off them” really is good advice. Lawsuits have proven to be as statistically effective as formal anti-bullying programs, markedly more effective in conservative areas where adults are hostile to LGBTQ people.

I’m shocked Lucas suffered what he suffered and I’m outraged the adults who run his school don’t care enough to protect him. But anger isn’t enough. Action is required.

Want to know how you can take action? Read the following story about three effective ways you can fight anti-LGBTQ bullying in your community schools.

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James Finn is a former Air Force intelligence analyst, long-time LGBTQ activist, an alumnus of Queer Nation and Act Up NY, a regular columnist for queer news outlets, and an “agented” but unpublished novelist. Send questions, comments, and story ideas to [email protected].