Family 'devastated' after alleged indecent assault of disabled child at school

Family says NT school failed in its duty of care after alleged indecent assault of disabled 12-year-old child Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:08am In short: The family of a 12-year-old girl with disabilities who was allegedly indecently assaulted by another student at school has accused the Northern Territory Education Department of negligence. Her family has questioned why the girl was left unsupervised at the time, and criticised the school's response. The education department says it "recognises the distress this matter has caused and will continue to work with the school, the family and the relevant authorities", with the police investigation ongoing. A Northern Territory family has accused the Department of Education of failing in its duty of care for their 12-year-old girl, after she was allegedly indecently assaulted at a school that caters for children with disabilities. Warning: This story contains descriptions of an alleged indecent assault on a child that some readers may find distressing. In cases involving alleged sexual offences against children, there are strict rules preventing the publication of details that could identify the children or the school involved. The girl's mother was contacted by the school in April and informed of an incident allegedly involving inappropriate touching by a male student in a school bathroom. The girl's grandfather told the ABC the alleged incident and the following forensic assessments by police had been extremely confronting for the family. He said the girl was now refusing to attend school, and there had been noticeable changes in her demeanour. "She loves giving a high five and cuddling people … that doesn't happen no more unless mummy says it's okay," he said. "It's heartbreaking. As time goes on, things are not getting better." The incident report According to an incident report prepared by the school and obtained by the ABC, a teacher had noticed the girl and a boy from the same class had not returned to the classroom after being let out, separately, to go to the bathroom. The school has small classes of around half-a-dozen students, given their complex needs. It is not clear from the notes exactly how much time passed before the teacher went to the bathroom to check on them, thinking it was "odd" they had not yet returned. The teacher then found the two students in the boys' bathroom, in the same cubical. According to the written account, the teacher found them "with the door closed" and their feet "facing each other". The girl had then stepped out of the cubical "pulling/adjusting her pants up", according to the document. The students were then interviewed separately. The girl told school staff the boy had told her to go with him into the boys' bathroom before pulling her pants down and touching her "on the butt". The teachers also interviewed the boy, but he was silent in response to questions. When they read out what the girl had told them and asked if it was correct, he nodded, according to the incident report. Family says girl needs close supervision Like many children with disability, the girl had an "education adjustment plan" in place at the school. The plan, which has also been obtained by the ABC, outlines measures to deal with the girl's autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Among them was a note that the girl "needs reminders to close the toilet door while in the toilet", but suggested this could be done through "visual" aids inside the toilet. A separate 22-page cognitive assessment, shared by the family with the ABC, outlines the girl's extreme vulnerability in detail. Her level of "adaptive behaviour" was within the lowest 0.1 percent for her age, according to the assessment. The girl's ability to "protect her physical wellbeing" was in the "extremely low range". "The implication of these results are that [the girl] requires significant supervision in daily living environments, with limited independent safety awareness," the cognitive assessment found. The girl's grandfather said it was unacceptable for the school to lose track of the girl when they well understood her cognitive capacity. "Why did my granddaughter end up in the boys' toilets? And then why did it take so long … before they realised?" "There should have been someone there with her at all times." Family questions school's response The girl's family is angry at the response from the school and the education department. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the girl's mother took her to hospital, where a case worker "advised [her] to call the police". "The school, believe it or not, did not inform the police of what took place," the girl's grandfather said. He also said it had taken the school "an hour" to notify the girl's mother, who works at a location only 10 minutes away from the school. The ABC sent detailed questions about the handling of the complaint to the school and the Department of Education. Marinda Watt, acting deputy chief executive for schools, said the department was "aware of the matter" and was working closely with authorities. She said the department had "been in contact" with police, but did not specify when. "The Department recognises the distress this matter has caused and will continue to work with the school, the family and the relevant authorities to support the safety and wellbeing of all students," Ms Watt said. "The matter remains subject to ongoing investigation. For that reason, and to protect the privacy of the student, family and others involved, the Department cannot comment further on individual details, including school operations, notifications, support arrangements or risk-management steps." The ABC contacted NT Minister for Education Jo Hersey about the case. She referred the broadcaster to the department's response. The girl's grandfather said Northern Territory Police had been excellent throughout the process and had made things as "gentle as possible" for the young girl, who he said had the "mind of a five- or six-year-old". "I cannot thank them enough for what they've done," he said. But he said it had been "devastating" for the girl's mother to hand over the girl's clothes and underwear for forensic testing. NT Police said it was "investigating allegations of indecent touching involving two children, both with known cognitive impairments". "Investigations remain ongoing," the police spokesperson said. Claims psychological support lacking The girl's grandfather also questioned what he said was a lack of psychological support from the school in the aftermath of the alleged event. "The school has sent down a psychologist, but the funny thing was, that was to talk to my daughter and son-in-law, not to my granddaughter," he said. "I'm hearing that there is not a child psychologist [available in the NT to] assist my granddaughter. "Surely there would be somewhere. I know we're behind on a lot of things, but not that far." He said the school had seemed more focused on the girl's attendance, rather than offering support. "The thing what they're doing now is that they're trying to fix these mistakes by trying to push my granddaughter back to school without ever giving her any assistance," he said. "Bad move. Don't work that way." The family said they understood the accused boy had been allowed to remain at school. Meanwhile, the school has suggested options including distance education for the girl. "I am not going to sit back and watch my grandchild miss out [on] all the good things in school that a child should have because of the sake of one person who's still allowed to attend that school," the girl's grandfather said.