PLAINVIEW, Texas — The Plainview Independent School District released new details on Wednesday after reports of sexual behavior among first graders at South Elementary left parents demanding answers.
The PISD statement contradicted the account of a concerned family member of one of the students, Heather Gonzales. Gonzales previously told EverythingLubbock.com that her 6-year-old family member was forced to perform a sexual act on another student. According to a statement from Plainview ISD, the incident “occurred away from the full vision of the teacher.” The incident was recorded on an iPad, Gonzales said.
Since the original incident, families have protested and called for the school’s principal, superintendent and the teacher involved in the incident to be fired. Plainview ISD said since the investigation concluded, certain “key findings” could be made public.
According to the school district, law enforcement was contacted “immediately” after the video was found. PISD said authorities who reviewed the video determined that “a sexual assault did not occur; rather, mutual inappropriate sexual contact occurred between two 6-year-old students.”
The school district said the incident was “brief” and lasted 34 seconds with no “outcry for help or struggle.” PISD stated that the teacher was not wearing headphones or earbuds at the time of the incident, according to security cameras in the school hallway.
PISD said the school district tried to notify parents and guardians the evening the incident happened. The school district said, “One answered, and the other was not able to be reached by the campus until the following school day.”
According to the statement, the school met with the parents of those involved after they were contacted by a Child Protective Services investigator. The school district said all 6-year-olds involved are victims and “being treated as such due to the occurrence of behaviors that are not typical of 6-year-old students.”
“We cannot speak to the conclusion of the Hale Country District Attorney or FBI,” PISD said. “The law in the State of Texas does not provide for criminal penalties for children under the age of 10, and public schools are prohibited from expelling or suspending children in 3rd grade or below.”