HONOLULU — The state of Hawaii will pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that students at the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind were sexually assaulted for more than a decade.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in August 2011, claimed that for more than 10 years, some of the school’s students known as “The Ringleaders” routinely assaulted, robbed, raped and gang raped younger and smaller students, Hawaii News Now reports. It also said the school’s administrator learned about the incidents in 2007; however, she failed to stop the activity.
Additionally, the complaint also accused former counselor Scott O’Neal of engaging in inappropriate activities with males students. Under the settlement, he will have to pay $750,000.
Many of the victims refused to speak about the abuse because they were afraid that the state’s only school for the deaf and blind would close down. The settlement allows the school to remain open.
Hawaii News Now – KGMB and KHNL
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