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Mother says special-needs daughter sexually assaulted at East Chapel Hill High

A Chapel Hill woman said Friday that she wants two East Chapel Hill High School students prosecuted, alleging that they forced her 15-year-old daughter, a special needs student, to perform sex acts and recorded it on video.

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A Chapel Hill woman said Friday that she wants two East Chapel Hill High School students prosecuted, alleging that they forced her 15-year-old daughter, a special needs student, to perform sex acts and recorded it on video.

Chapel Hill police said they are investigating the alleged incident, but declined to provide more details. A search warrant in the case has been sealed.

The mother, who is not being named to protect her daughter's identity, said she learned of the incident three weeks ago from a friend whose daughter had seen a video of the alleged assault.

"My daughter is getting taunted and teased. The video is going through Snapchat," she said, noting her daughter has since changed schools.

Her daughter was taken into a stairwell at East Chapel Hill High during the school day last month and was threatened and forced into performing sex acts, she said. The girl was too fearful to report it, she said.

"It's just heart-wrenching to know something like this could happen in the school system," the woman said.

Even more disturbing, she said, was the school's response once she notified them about the incident.

"When I talked to the vice principal, she said this wasn't the first video and this probably wouldn't be the last video, and everything would die down," she said. "That really concerned me."

A spokesman for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district said he isn't aware of any other videos showing sex acts.

The girl's mother said a cellphone has been confiscated from one of the boys, but the video continues to circulate on social media and has led to bullying at her daughter's new school.

"My daughter did not want this to happen," she said. "I just want justice for her and for her to be at peace at school."

She also wants to alert other parents.

"I'm just trying to get it out there," she said. "This does happen in schools, and it does need to be addressed, and it is a serious issue."

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