Great Bend Post

GREAT BEND -Michelle O’Neil is the mother of a victim involved with the alleged assault on a Great Bend High School activity bus.

The incident happened as the bus was transporting the swimming team home from competing in Manhattan on Saturday, February 6.

O’Neil said her son was sexually assaulted on the bus by upperclassman on the swim team.

“My son is not doing good,” she said. “I get emotional about this. He cries all the time. He feels humiliated and he’s with me 24-7.

We tried to get him to go to school on Thursday. He made it about an hour and a half,” she explained.

“We do have him in counseling,” she said. “As a mom it is tough to see this.”

She also discussed the incident on the bus.

“There is no question that it happened,” she said. “The boys who did it have even sent my son text messages asking for forgiveness and facebook messages saying they are sorry.”

O’Neil was not pleased with the school’s response to the incident.

“It is sad how USD 428 is making light of this,” she explained. “The whole situation, the way it was handled is bad. My son is trying to be as strong as he can and we are going to change the policy on the buses so this can never happen again.”

The Ellsworth County Attorney is considering possible charges in the case.