BY CHANDLER KIDD
An East Flatbush native is suing
her Downtown Brooklyn
alma mater for allegedly failing
to protect her as an 8-yearold
student against the sexual
abuse of a former janitor.
Attorneys for Amala Muhammed
Redd, 47, fi led suit
in Brooklyn Supreme Court
against the prestigious Brooklyn
Friends School — part of
a network of Quaker-run college
prep schools that demands
more than $45,000 in annual
tuition — seeking unspecifi ed
damages.
Redd, who attended Brooklyn
Friends School from 1978
to 1990, claims she suffered
repeated sexual abuse at the
hands of a former custodian
during her second- and thirdgrade
years at the Pearl Street
academy, where she endured
open-mouth kissing, oral sex,
and rape, according to court
documents.
Meanwhile, Redd’s gym
teacher facilitated the abuse
COURIER L 26 IFE, OCT. 11-17, 2019
by allowing the janitor to routinely
pull the young girl from
class without reason, according
to the suit.
By third grade, Redd had
begun injuring herself to avoid
gym class and her abuser, but
it wasn’t until a teacher caught
the janitor in the act of sexually
assaulting the young student
that the school took action,
alerting police and Redd’s
mother, and fi ring the custodian,
according to Redd’s attorney.
“Here we have a prestigious
private school managed by presumably
intelligent and progressive
people, who witnessed
a young child being taken out
of class by a janitor, trying to
avoid going to gym class, acting
out, and did nothing in the
face of these glaring red fl ags
of abuse. Instead, fortuitously,
this janitor happens to be seen
by a teacher and only then is
action taken. This is beyond
negligence.” said attorney Irwin
Zalkin.
After being told of the abuse,
Redd’s mother declined to pursue
charges against the janitor,
fearing that the scandal would
jeopardize her daughter’s place
at the elite prep school, and the
predator’s whereabouts are
currently unknown, according
to Zalkin, who said he hopes the
suit leads Brooklyn Friends to
turn over documents that may
help track down Redd’s abuser.
“One of the things we’re going
to demand from the school
is his personnel fi le, and that
may help us get a better lead,”
Zalkin said.
The head of Brooklyn
Friends School said she takes
Redd’s allegations seriously,
and will work to understand
whatever mistakes may have
occurred nearly 40 years ago.
“The safety of our students
– past, present, and future – is
obviously our highest priority,”
said Head of School Crissy
Cáceres. “These allegations
are serious and are receiving
thorough attention. I will continue
The outside of the Brooklyn Friends School in Downtown Brooklyn.
Chandler Kidd
to lead this community
with care as we all work to better
understand and process
these alleged events of over
thirty years ago.”
The plaintiffs are suing
under the Child Victims Act ,
which provides victims abused
as minors with a 365-day “looks
back window” to circumvent
statute of limitations restrictions
and fi le lawsuits against
their abusers — regardless of
when the abuse occurred.
BREAKING SILENCE
Sex abuse lawsuit fi led against prestigious Quaker
academy in Brooklyn Heights over decades-old assault
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