GRANDVILLE, MI - Parents of a boy say he was sexually assaulted in kindergarten by classmates who photographed the abuse on school-issued iPads.

Grandville Public Schools, administrators and a teacher are named in a federal lawsuit alleging the district allowed the abuse to occur and failed to conduct a proper investigation after the allegations came to light.

The lawsuit is filed in U.S. District Court under pseudonyms: John and Jane Doe, on behalf of their son, Jimmy Doe.

The former Grandville superintendent disputed allegations in the lawsuit and said school officials responded appropriately. The current superintendent said the truth would be revealed during the legal process.

The lawsuit alleged that district workers showed "gross indifference" toward supervision of the classroom and in its investigation. The parents allege Title IX violations for denying him access to an education.

"Kindergartner Jimmy Doe was sexually assaulted over multiple months by classmates in their teacher-attended classroom," attorney Anne Buckleitner wrote in the complaint.

"His assailants photographed the assaults using their school-issued iPads. Jimmy was harassed by the many students who heard about and viewed the photographs of his assaults on their iPads, ultimately driving Jimmy from the District."

The lawsuit names as defendants: the school district, former superintendent Ron Caniff (now Kent Intermediate School District superintendent), superintendent Roger Bearup, assistant superintendent Scott Merkel, Century Park Learning Center principal Tonia Shoup and teacher Hillary Huberts.

Caniff, then the superintendent, said he couldn't speak at length given the legal action, but said: "At the time I was at Grandville Public Schools there was never any suspicion, suggestion or complaint expressed about physical contact between the students involved in this matter, nor did the investigation indicate any concerns in that regard.

"In fact, the very first I heard of any alleged physical contact in this situation was yesterday. As I read through the complaint last evening there are several allegations that will be refuted, but that will occur in due course through the legal process."

Bearup, the current schools superintendent, issued a statement after he reviewed the lawsuit Tuesday night, March 21.

"Subject to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) laws and pending litigation, we cannot respond in detail to the allegations; however, we assure you that our focus is and always will be the safety and care of every student who walks through our doors," he wrote.

"Our teachers, principals, and district administration take great pride in that. Litigation is meant to be an avenue to the truth. We patiently wait for that truth to be revealed. Until then, we will have no further comment."

The lawsuit said school workers violated federal law as well as the district's anti-harassment policy and use of technology resources policy.

The plaintiffs said the boy was in Huberts' kindergarten classroom for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 school years. He was abused by four other kindergartners, identified by their initials, as early as fall 2014, continuing through April 22, 2015, the lawsuit said.

During "free time," the lawsuit said, the four would take the alleged victim "to the 'mudroom' area of the classroom where they touched, sodomized him, and preserved widely available evidence of those assaults by photographing Jimmy's genitals using classroom iPads to take photographs," Buckleitner wrote.

"The four boys directed Jimmy as to what and how he was to pose, and for how long while the boys used classroom iPads to take photographs."

She said the boys would delete photos as the camera roll filled so they could take additional photos. The boys allegedly told him that if it did not cooperate, or told anyone about the touching and photos, "they would not be his friends, and they would say that the sexual activity was Jimmy's idea," the lawsuit said.

Early on, his parents noticed he was having trouble. He wasn't learning, and was "both physically and emotionally deteriorating," Buckleitner wrote.

At an October 2014 parent/teacher conference, they shared concerns with the teacher, and asked her to watch for teasing.

His behavior soon worsened.

"Jimmy told his parents only that he didn't like school because all other students teased him about his 'pictures,'" Buckleitner wrote.

On April 22, 2015, Shoup, the principal, called Jimmy's mother after the teacher noticed a student hiding his iPad screen as she walked by. The teacher asked to see the iPad, which was full of photos of Jimmy's genitals, the lawsuit said.

Another child started deleting photos as Huberts, the teacher, dealt with the first student. She took the other student's iPad before all of the photos were deleted, the lawsuit said.

The principal told Jimmy's mother that "the four boys said that it had been Jimmy's idea to display his genitals in the classroom, and that Jimmy had admitted to showing his 'privates' and to having his picture taken," the lawsuit said.

Buckleitner said the mother told the principal to contact police and Child Protective Services. She also asked that the photos be saved. She showed up at school 10 minutes later.

Shoup, the lawsuit said, told the mother the investigation was complete. She found no evidence of coercion or assault, the lawsuit said.

Jimmy allegedly told his mother that the other boys told him to take the blame or he would have no friends.

Shoup told the mother that the photos were "pornographic" and deleted at the direction of police, the lawsuit said.

According to a police report, Shoup told police she only contacted them because of the mother's insistence, and that she had already conducted an investigation, deleted the photos and no further investigation was needed, the lawsuit said.

The parents met with then-superintendent Caniff, and Merkel, the assistant superintendent, who said Jimmy could transfer to another school. They also said kindergartners have "normal curiosity, and suggested that if the parents insisted on pressing the matter, Jimmy would be the one to be disciplined as he was the only child whose genitals were photographed," the lawsuit said.

Jimmy left school but returned to kindergarten the following school year. The four boys were in first grade.

The year started OK but he soon became troubled, being "continually victimized on the playground by students who had seen and knew of his 'pictures' from the prior year," Buckleitner wrote.

"On the playground other children tried to catch Jimmy, take his pants down, and tied to bribe him to 'show (his) privates,'" the lawsuit said.

He would spend most of his recesses hiding, and dug into the ground and covered himself in mulch, the lawsuit said.

Ultimately, he left the district.