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Investigation Underway In Alleged Athens Schools Sexual Assault Cover Up
By: Susan Tebben
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ATHENS — The Athens City School District is arranging for an outside investigation to review allegations of mishandling by the school district when it came to a 2010 alleged sexual assault incident.
A woman posted a petition on the website change.org calling on the Athens Board of Education, Superintendent Tom Gibbs to dismiss Dr. Paul Grippa or ask for his resignation from the board “due to the known mishandling of a case of student on student sexual violence, of which I was the victim,” the woman wrote in the petition.
She said the sexual assault followed a year of sexual harassment, all of which was reported to the district and Grippa, who was a principal at the time. The woman also said Grippa “destroyed case notes and told me I had to apologize to my perpetrator.”
In a statement to media, Gibbs said he and the board were made aware of a social media post directed at Grippa regarding the allegations.
“In response to these allegations, the Athens City School District is arranging for an investigation by an outside investigator to review the allegations and determine whether administrators acted in accordance with the board’s policies in effect in 2010,” Gibbs wrote on Thursday.
Gibbs cited confidentiality laws in declining to provide any information about the students allegedly involved. Gibbs also said since Grippa is an elected official he’s not aware of any mechanism for placing him on leave during an investigation.