You send your child to school and hope they are safe. But one family says their autistic boy was sexually assaulted, twice, on a Sparks school campus. The second time, they allege, after their son reported the first assault. Those allegations are contained in a lawsuit filed in Reno Federal Court.

According to the lawsuit the student was assaulted by another boy at Sparks Middle School in January of 2007. The suit alleges he reported the attack to a counselor who after talking with both boys told the victim...the other boy "would never do anything like that." and took no action.

Neither did, the suit alleges, another teacher who the victim also told. Days later, the boy reported a second assault. This time there was an investigation by the Sparks Police Department; physical evidence indicated the boy had been raped.

The school district says, however, the boy who often went to the counselor with complaints of being picked on, never mentioned a first sexual assault. When he reported the second, the counselor acted immediately.

School Superintendent Paul Dugan, a counselor earlier in his career, says he knows the employee named in the suit and believes her. "If the boy had mentioned anything sexual, she would have acted, as she did properly after the second assault." In that instance the counselor called police, the boy accused in the attack was removed from the school.

Dugan bristles at a second charge in the lawsuit, that this was not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern and custom of the district failing to protect students.

"We not only have legal responsibility, we have a moral responsibility. People may think I'm biased, but if I thought there was a problem with failing to report incidents like this, I'd be pursuing it vigorously."

RENO - Tom Beko, the attorney for the boy, notes he has another client...a young girl who was molested by a volunteer school mentor.

The 2 sides differ on who reported it first to the Sparks Police Department. There's no dispute that the investigation was completed. Sent to the D-A's office more than a year ago.
Deputy DA Jo Lee Wickes says she reviewed the report and decided against filing charges because she concluded she could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Neither boy is at the school today. The accused attacker was removed. The victim transferred to another school. Beko says he and his family continue to struggle with the effects of the incident.