Content warning: The content of this article includes discussion of sexual assault involving minors.
On Sept. 23, the Providence Police Department began investigating a reported sexual assault that occured during school hours at Hope High School. During the ongoing investigation, four juveniles — who are now being held at the Rhode Island Training School — were charged with first-degree sexual assault.
The allegation was first reported to the school’s school resource officer, Kristy dosReis, Providence chief public information officer for public safety, wrote in a statement to The Herald. The students involved were then “brought to the office and police were immediately notified,” Principal Francisco Velasquez wrote in a Sept. 23 letter to the Hope High School Community. According to NBC 10, the victim is a 16-year-old student.
Velasquez added that “this was an isolated incident.”
“Providence Police take allegations of sexual assault seriously and investigate them in accordance with applicable law and department procedures,” dosReis wrote. “Because this case involves juveniles and remains an active investigation, there is limited additional information we can release regarding the circumstances of the alleged incident or investigative steps.”
Providence Public School District spokesperson Alex Torres-Perez shared in a statement to The Herald that the district is “fully cooperating with authorities as they conduct their investigation, and will comply with all applicable laws.”
“PPSD wants to ensure that everyone who may have been affected has access to the support they need during this difficult time,” Velasquez wrote in a Sept. 25 follow-up letter to the Hope community.
The district is assessing their safety protocols and ensuring access to the Crisis Response Team in response to the incident, Torres-Perez wrote. The Office of Opportunity and Access is working with the school to provide continued support. On Oct. 1, Hope also began hosting voluntary listening circles facilitated by a trained mediator. Students also have access to mental health support from Day One and Hazel Health, she added.
In a statement to The Herald, Lindsay Paiva, President of the Providence Teachers Union wrote that teachers were provided with an FAQ document “with what steps to take if students came to them with information.”
In April, a student Central High School was charged with first-degree sexual assault after an incident reported during school hours. Paiva said that, in light of these incidents, the PTU is advocating for more transparent, standardized procedures on how schools should navigate reports of sexual assault or other “school crises.”
One junior at Hope, who was granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, told The Herald that there was a lack of face-to-face communication between the administration and students following the incident. “They didn’t say anything at school,” she said, adding that even after a week “teachers haven’t spoken to us about it.”
Since the news was released, the student said, “My parents would not want me to go into the bathroom alone.” She brings a friend to the bathroom or calls a friend “just in case.” She also emphasized the need for more cameras at Hope.
A safety audit completed at Hope last year found that “blind spots were identified for additional cameras and security measures,” Paiva wrote. “There was never any follow through from the district.”
According to Torres-Perez, Hope has increased monitoring within the school and added three security cameras, which are scheduled to be online starting Oct. 5.
Hope also hosted its spirit week as planned this week.
“Why would we have a spirit week after this happened?” said the Hope student. “What they’re doing is so insensitive because why are we having a pep rally after the rape allegation happened?”
Torres-Perez wrote that school administrators thought over whether to proceed with spirit week, the pep rally and homecoming events. “Student leaders advocated for continuing this week’s events. They felt that it was more important than ever for the Hope High School community to come together, support each other and show strength during this difficult time for our community.”
“I’m kind of shocked people are not mad about this,” the student said.
Nate Barkow is a senior staff writer for the Youth and Education beat and a co-chief of The Herald's social media team. He is from New York City and plans on concentrating in International and Public Affairs and Education Studies. In his free time, he loves trying new restaurants and watching Survivor.
