Allegations of an alleged same-sex sexual assault at Sunny Hills High School, a prestigious Orange County public school, have been growing as the school has remained silent.
First, there are concerns among parents.
“Regardless of the race of the victim, Korean-American parents in Fullerton are looking at this case very seriously,” said Mindy Shin, 42, of Mama Bear, a grassroots organization for Korean-American parental rights in Orange County. “Various videos and articles continue to demand an investigation, but the school is not taking any measures, so the suspicion and controversy are only growing.”
This incident is particularly concerning because it coincides with controversial issues in California public schools, such as parental rights, explicit sex education, and gender-neutral restrooms.
In a phone interview with the Korea Daily on January 18, Ms. Kim, a parent of a student at Sunny Hills High School, expressed that the general sentiment among students is one of inevitability about the sexual assault case. They feel that the events unfolding were expected and have now finally occurred. “It’s something I feel every time I talk to my child about gender identity issues in public schools these days, but so far, whenever something big or small happens on campus, the education system has been quick to sweep it under the carpet,” said Ms. Kim, whose child attends Sunny Hills High School.
Sunny Hills High School is 46.2 percent Asian, according to U.S. News & World Report, and is located in Fullerton, a predominantly Korean-American neighborhood.
The controversy over the incident continues to grow, even on the popular online community Reddit.
“This isn’t the first time something like this happened, and our admins only care about damage control and making sure the news doesn’t reach outsiders. They do nothing to stop situations like these, and when we speak out, we are silenced and manipulated to seem like we are making a big deal out of nothing,” wrote a user who identified as a Sunny Hills High School student (username-Consistent-Tea-8440). “Well this is the first time an incident like this made it out their grasp, and now we are asking for others to help this incident as well as the countless other incident get the proper investigation and action that is needed.”
The case arose from allegations that a student with autism was sexually assaulted by a same-sex student in a restroom. The problem is that the victim’s testimony was not properly recognized because the student is autistic, raising concerns about the rights of students with disabilities being ignored in educational settings.
“Probably, the school or district will not conduct a proper investigation because they are afraid of their reputation and the problem will grow,” said attorney Karen Jung. “In the case of sexual harassment or sexual assault, even without cameras or witnesses, the victim’s own words can be enough to prove the case, so it’s better to take it to a civil court.”
Evangelist Sean Lee, who is in charge of disability ministry at All Nations Church said, “The only way to ensure the rights of students with disabilities is for the education system to improve its systems and work harder on school safety.”
Meanwhile, Sunny Hills High School has not yet responded to the Korea Daily’s inquiries for comment. The high school also faced controversy in 2020 when a basketball coach was arrested for sexually harassing a female student. In 1992, a notable incident occurred where five Sunny Hills High School students conspired to murder a fellow student and buried him, a case that was later adapted into the movie ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’.
BY YEOL JANG, JUNHAN PARK [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
