Katoomba High teen says school could have prevented her party rape

Almost three years after a schoolgirl was attacked at a party in the Blue Mountains, a teenage boy was found guilty of her rape. But the victim believes the attack could have been prevented if her school had acted earlier.

A young woman raped by a boy from her high school at a party said she burst into tears when he was found guilty this week – but she believes the attack could have been prevented if the school had acted earlier.

In 2019, she was raped by a teenage boy at a party in the Blue Mountains. Just four days earlier, her parents had met with staff at Katoomba High to raise their concerns about the boy following claims of harassment.

After she was raped, the incident was reported to the school and the police, who launched an investigation under Strike Force Woollala.

“When the police were investigating the attack, I had to walk around school pretending that everything was fine but being so scared that he would do it again,” the girl said.

“That constant fear for my basic safety made me into a shell of myself and I was constantly terrified.”

While the police were investigating, an Education Department inquiry was also launched after her parents complained the school was warned before the rape but failed to have the boy spoken to by police for harassment.

At the time, a department official wrote to the parents: “A PES investigation has commenced into this matter and will be examining whether any staff member at Katoomba High School have engaged in misconduct.”

The young woman and her father, who have been fighting for justice since she was raped at a party. Picture: Simon Scott

This week, almost three years after the attack, the teenage boy was found guilty of rape in the Children’s Court.

He was found guilty of six charges of sexual assault and one charge of choking without consent. The magistrate found him not guilty of two charges of sexual assault, one charge of common assault and one charge of choke causing loss of consciousness.

“When I read the verdict, I broke down crying with relief that the magistrate had listened to me and the witnesses. I’m grateful that the court found him guilty on so many charges,” the victim said.

“I know how badly he attacked me. It has changed my life in a very bad way.

“He was old enough to know that he was raping me. His blatant acts of violence and cruelty can’t go unpunished.”

But she believes not enough was done by the school to protect her from her attacker – despite the incident occurring outside the school.

“The school should have had the police speak to that boy before he attacked me,” she said.

“My dad had written to the school before the attack demanding that they bring in the police. The school said they would and they didn’t.”

Her father said while the guilty verdict was a relief, there was a long road ahead for his daughter, who is still recovering from the attack.

“My daughter has constant nightmares about what happened. I’ve heard her scream at night, where she relives the attack in her sleep,” he said.

“There needs to be a very serious consequence for what he’s done to our daughter.”

Meanwhile, the parents haven’t heard from the department regarding the status of the internal investigation into Katoomba High.

“They’ve slow-walked their 17-month investigation into what happened in the lead-up to the rape of our daughter and they have continually failed to respond to correspondence in a timely manner,” her father said.

In a statement, a department spokesman said it was “not appropriate” to comment on the matter.

The boy will be sentenced later this year.