A teenage girl with Down Syndrome was raped aboard a school bus, and negligence by the Riverside Unified School District and a private bus company compounded the girl’s trauma, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday, Sept. 7.

The lawsuit filed in Riverside County Superior Court seeks more than $25,000 in damages from the school district and Student Transportation of America.

Update: Riverside Unified School District expands response to lawsuit alleging rape on school bus

The defendants “(allowed) a violent perpetrator to rape and criminally sexually assault, and sodomize (the victim) while under school and bus company supervision,” the lawsuit alleges.

The district said in a statement that it was aware of the law suit, noting that it contracts with Student Transportation of America for both vehicles and drivers.

“The district has not been served with a law suit at this point, but has diligently been investigating the incident since it occurred,” the statement read. “We are disappointed that the mediation process did not resolve the issue to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

“Student transportation safety is a very high priority for RUSD,” the statement added. “Our concern is for the continued safety and well-being of the students involved, and we are working to ensure that our service providers reflect the highest industry safety standards.”

Representatives of the bus company did not respond to a request for comment.

Joshua Naggar, the lawyer for the girl’s family, said Friday morning that the lawsuit is meant to give a voice to a victim who can’t speak for herself.

“We do want to speak up for the special needs community,” Naggar said.

The girl, who was 14 at the time of the assault, and her alleged assailant, a then-12-year-old student, are not named in the complaint. This publication does not name victims of sexual assault.

John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s office, confirmed that criminal charges had been filed in the case but said he couldn’t provide further details because the case is in the juvenile court system.

The rape occurred Feb. 23, 2016, according to the complaint. The girl, who was on her way to school, was seated two rows behind the driver, and the bus had video cameras, although no human monitor was present, the lawsuit alleges.

The girl, boy and bus driver were the only people on the bus from 7 to 8 a.m., according to the lawsuit. The boy assaulted the girl as he held her down by the arm, the lawsuit alleges.

The driver saw the boy seated where the girl had been and noticed the boy was holding his pants up, the lawsuit read. He stopped the bus and saw the victim with her pants down around her knees, according to the complaint.

The driver restrained the boy, but did not immediately report the incident to police or emergency workers, the lawsuit alleges. He reported it to school officials after driving to campus.

The girl’s mother was called to the school two hours after the incident but wasn’t told what was going on, according to the lawsuit. The mother learned what happened only after overhearing a school nurse tell a receptionist that a police detective wanted the girl treated for sexual assault, the lawsuit read.

Since the attack, the girl, who was “a confident, jubilant and loving young lady” prior to the assault, can no longer care for herself “and now has to be showered, dressed, and fed like a baby,” the lawsuit read.

The girl no longer wants to go to school, refuses to get on a school bus, rarely speaks and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the suit.

The lawsuit alleges that the bus company and school district are at fault for “(failing) to seek or provide immediate medical treatment for the minor child after she had been seriously injured.”