Jury sides with school system in suit accusing it of ignoring middle

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A jury on Wednesday rejected a woman’s lawsuit seeking tens of millions of dollars from Virginia’s largest school system over allegations that she was raped multiple times as a middle schooler.

The woman, who was identified in court papers only by her initials, sued Fairfax County Public Schools under Title IX, a law that guarantees girls and women equal educational access. The lawsuit alleged school officials at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston ignored her complaints that she endured sexual harassment and sexual assaults inside and outside of the school back in 2011 and 2012, when she was a seventh-grader.

Lawyers for the school system, though, argued that her claims were fabricated.

“She has tried to deceive you about what really happened,” Sona Rewari, a lawyer for the school board, told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday.