A 10-year-old student was sexually assaulted in the Washington Elementary School District
Parents were not notified, and one headline was poorly written
On November 19, 2025, a student was reportedly raped after being lured into an unlocked classroom at Orangewood Elementary School.
Arizona’s Family headline says, “Sex offender allegedly posed as doctor, assaulted young girl at Phoenix school.” Orangewood has a physical address in Phoenix but is governed by the Washington Elementary School District, which is headquartered in Glendale.
According to the report, an unnamed employee was placed on administrative leave as the investigation continues.
During the November 20 school board meeting, one parent from Orangewood stated that he was “disappointed” and “pissed off” about how WESD handled the situation. He said he received an email at noon on November 19 announcing that the school was locked down. The next morning, around 8 am, he received another email that said a student had been attacked. He learned from sources outside of WESD that the student was raped on school grounds.
Another parent wept as she expressed how her trust in the district had been broken due to the lack of communication and failure to follow safety procedures. She said she always shows identification before entering a school building and did not understand why that protocol wasn’t followed this time.
Listen to their public comments below.
WESD’s public statement says, in part:
On Wednesday, November 19, Orangewood administration was made aware of an unauthorized male on campus…Upon investigation, it was determined that the individual gained access behind a student who was buzzed in through the main entrance. He was on campus for approximately 10 minutes, and during that time, he made inappropriate contact with a student.
Although Open Meeting Laws bar school board members from directly responding to public comments, none of the representatives formally acknowledged the victim or her family during their speeches.
WESD Board President Kyle Clayton—one of five board members who voted to terminate student-teaching contracts with a Christian university—claimed they were unable to comment due to an open investigation.
This story is still developing.
This post was sourced from the School Board Integrity Project.