Parents Still Looking For Answers From Charter School After Alleged Sex Assaults

BOSTON (CBS) - Some parents were still outraged after a meeting to discuss allegations that a six-year-old Boston Renaissance Charter School student molested other kids on their school bus earlier this month.

"We didn't get too many answers. It seemed like the school was protecting the child, which I understand. But, I didn't feel like there was any protection for my child," said one mother who claims her son was molested by the student.

Several parents told WBZ-TV that school officials refused to comment on the status of the student. Others said that the school could not provide specifics on the number of bus monitors that may be present on bus rides.

"We got no answers from these people. My child is not safe here. No one's child is safe here," said one parent who wished to remain anonymous.

Boston Police said they were notified about the incident on November 3rd, but "Due to the ages of the parties involved there can be no criminal investigation." Instead, detectives referred the incident to a social service agency that provides family counseling.

Renaissance Charter School said it informed the parents of the children involved on November 3rd and contacted social services. Other parents were not alerted until November 20th when a friend of the family of one of those children posted on Facebook.

"They blaming it on the bus but this could happen at recess, in the classroom, in the bathroom, like this is crazy," the friend said after the meeting on Monday evening.

Renaissance Charter School is not a part of the Boston Public Schools district, but rather is a Commonwealth Charter School. Boston Public Schools does, however, provide bus transportation.

After the meeting the school released the following statement:

On November 21, local media reported on an alleged incident involving Boston Renaissance students that occurred on a school bus on November 3. These news reports came after details of the incident were posted on Facebook on November 20, by someone who is not associated with the school; prior to the social media posting, the school was working privately with the families involved and the related public agencies responsible for investigating and intervening in such cases.

Tonight, the Boston Renaissance community came together to hear the concerns of parents, learn more about the school's response, and discuss how we can work together to further ensure student safety on school buses and inside our school.

We understand why parents were upset to learn about the incident through social media and local news outlets, and appreciate how that caused confusion, fear and frustration.

We want to emphasize, however, that the families of the affected children were contacted immediately, and the decision to notify only those families was made to protect the privacy and well-being of these very young children.

At the time this decision was made, the school had already taken steps to notify the appropriate authorities, as well as child advocacy and social service organizations. We had also immediately put in place safeguards to protect the safety of all Renaissance students. In addition, our staff had already met with each and every family of the students involved and offered support services.

We have since followed up regularly with these families to ensure they are availing themselves of the services we have offered, and to relay our ongoing availability and support. We also discussed with these families alternative transportation options, including requesting bus monitors for their children.

We feel confident that these safeguards were effective and continue to be effective. We believed then and believe now, that no other child's safety was at risk after we became aware of the events of Nov. 3.

We are committed to continuing an open dialogue with parents to ensure their concerns are heard, and to working with them collaboratively to promote a safe and nurturing school environment.

The Department of Children and Families is also involved in the investigation.