Mother Files Lawsuit Against School After Daughter Assaulted by Transgender Student

A gender neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at Oval Park Grill in Durham, N.C., on May 11, 2016. Sara D. Davis/Getty Images

A lawsuit has been filed against an Oklahoma school by Theresa Gooden, the mother of a 15-year-old female student who was allegedly physically assaulted in the women’s restroom by a 17-year-old student who identifies as transgender.

The lawsuit was filed on May 25 in the Oklahoma County District Court. The incident occurred on Oct. 26, 2022, at Edmond Memorial High School. The lawsuit alleges that the school district was aware that the transgender student, who is biologically male but identifies as female, was using the girls’ restroom, a violation of state law.

The police report states that around 8 a.m. on Oct. 26, an officer responded to a report of a fight at the school. Upon arrival, the officer found a female student with facial and head injuries at the nurse’s station. The student reported that the transgender student had approached her in the restroom, became angry when she ignored him, and then physically assaulted her. The transgender student pulled the girl’s hair, forced her to the ground, and began to kick and punch her. Another female student attempted to intervene and was also punched by the assailant.

The school nurse’s assessment listed the victim’s injuries as including potential concussion, headache, dizziness, blurry vision, and nausea. The police report includes a statement from the transgender student, who said he had initiated a conversation with the victim because he wanted to “pay her back” for clothes he had stolen from her. After the incident, the transgender student was charged with Assault and Battery and Disorderly Conduct.

The lawsuit cites an Oklahoma law, SB 615, passed in May 2022, which requires students at state public schools to use facilities that correspond to their biological sex listed on their birth certificates, rather than their self-declared gender identity. The lawsuit seeks $75,000 in compensation for the “negligent failure” of administrators to protect the female students from physical and mental injuries, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.

Police face pro-transgender protesters outside of Boston Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, on Sept. 18, 2022. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Edmond Public Schools Superintendent Angela Grunewald addressed the assault in a YouTube video posted on December 17. In the video, she stated that the student who attacked the girls had enrolled as a female and presented as a female. She also mentioned that the student had violated a rule implemented in August 2022, requiring all students to use the restroom of their birth gender. The student has since been removed from Edmond Memorial High School.

The Epoch Times reached out to Edmond Public Schools for comment.

Transgender Radicalism

Experts on radical movements and religious extremism suggested in a recent Epoch Times report that the ideology surrounding gender and transgenderism can lead to radicalization, creating a polarizing worldview that can foster paranoia and anger. This issue has been highlighted by several recent incidents involving individuals who identify as transgender.

Surveys have indicated a higher potential for radicalization among transgender individuals, with a paper based on a 2021 survey of Canadian college students stating that transgender and gender-diverse youth are at the highest risk of supporting violent radicalization. Experts have called for individualized, thoughtful handling of cases where individuals, especially children, express discomfort with their gender. They have criticized the current approach, which they describe as a formulaic “fast-track gender affirmation policy.” The article suggests that the political narrative around transgenderism, which positions “gender-diverse” people as fundamentally at odds with “cisgender” people, can fuel resentment and potential violence.

Transgender activists hold signs in front of the California State Capitol building in Sacramento, Calif., on March 10, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times