Parents call for Eynesbury Primary School students to be suspended following sexual assault claims

A mum of a child at Eynesbury Primary School in Melbourne’s west has launched a petition after children accused of alleged sex offences were not suspended and not investigated by police.

There have been multiple complaints about student behaviour at Eynesbury Primary School over the past six months.

Frustrated parents are calling for students to be suspended at a trouble-plagued primary school in Melbourne’s west following several allegations of sexual assault as police rule out investigating the incidents further.

It’s understood the Department of Education have received multiple complaints about student behaviour at Eynesbury Primary School over the past six months.

Just last month, the Herald Sun revealed a prep student was sexually touched by two five-year-old boys at recess.

The girl’s mum took her daughter to the Royal Children’s Hospital after she discovered swelling and redness on her body.

The mum, who asked not to be named, said the alleged offenders should “absolutely” be suspended.

“The children that are victims should not be reprimanded, nor isolated or treated poorly when they haven’t done anything wrong,” she said.

“It is the children that are committing these acts that need to be withheld from class. It’s inhumane.”

In Victoria, children under the age of 10 cannot be found guilty of an offence and children aged 10 to 14 are presumed incapable of criminal intent.

This means Victoria Police cannot take any further action.

It comes as a local parent started a petition, calling for “stronger legislation” to protect children in primary schools.

This includes reforms under federal legislation for child-on-child sexual abuse to be labelled as “sexual assault” rather than “sexualised behaviour”.

The petition has garnered more than 1800 signatures from the public since it was created last week.

The mother, who started the petition, said her child was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions by a student in May.

“I was heartbroken to find that the school, the police, and various government bodies offered no real support as l fought to get help for my child,” she wrote on the petition.

“The current legislation fails to protect our children. This impacts every single parent with children in primary school across the nation.”

Another mother, who was forced to remove her child from the school, urged the leadership team to take “immediate action” and suspend the alleged offenders.

“The suspension or expulsion of the alleged perpetrators is at the very least of what should’ve occurred to begin with,” she said.

“The department and the principal need to put the safety of our children first. The victims involved have to live with this forever.”

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said officers were made aware of the allegations.

“The matter was assessed, no offence was detected and a criminal investigation was deemed inappropriate,” she said.

“The matter has been referred to child protection.”

A Department of Education spokeswoman said the claims were “incredibly concerning”.

“We are working closely with the school leadership team and the families involved,’ she said.

“These allegations are incredibly concerning and are being investigated. Where necessary, they have been referred to the police.”

Originally published as Parents call for Eynesbury Primary School students to be suspended following sexual assault claims