A New York male-to-female transgender teacher manipulated a fifth-grade girl to adopt a male name and pronouns, which caused the child to ...
A New York male-to-female transgender teacher manipulated a fifth-grade girl to adopt a male name and pronouns, which caused the child to have suicidal thoughts, a new lawsuit alleges.
According to a lawsuit filed in Suffolk County Court by the girl’s parents, a fifth-grade teacher at Terryville Road Elementary School in Port Jefferson Station, Debra Rosenquist, allegedly “forced” the child to use a male name and pronouns. The parents learned of the social transition months later when their daughter drew a picture that said, “I wanna kill myself.”
The family’s lawyer, Debra Wabnik, told the New York Post that Rosenquist “manipulated a pre-teen female into changing her gender identity when the child did not feel any inclination to do so.”
According to the suit, Rosenquist began calling the 9-year-old “Leo” and using opposite-sex pronouns at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, continuing to refer to the student as such for months before the parents were notified by the school principal in January 2022. The student reportedly met with a school psychologist and said she “was confused about her gender identity,” the court documents state.
The parents were supportive of the name change if it was requested by their child but were doubtful that their daughter actually wished to identify as a boy. They are concerned that the teacher had significantly deviated from the district’s curriculum and taught material on “gender identity” ideology to young students.
The lawsuit states that Rosenquist “pursued her own agenda outside the curriculum, which included persuading her 5th-grade students to try ‘being gay’ or being another gender even when they were not.”
“To further her agenda, Rosenquist read and provided her students graphic books about gender and sexuality which were not on the curriculum,” the suit alleged.
Rosenquist authored an LGBT-themed book entitled “I am Neither” and reportedly kept it in the classroom. Additionally, Rosenquist allegedly read “When Aidan Became a Brother,” a book about chemical and surgical child sex change procedures, even though it was not part of the official curriculum. After an investigation was launched, it was discovered that at least one of the non-curricular books was present in Rosenquist’s classroom.
The parents learned that Rosenquist had allegedly been reported for abuse, but nothing had been done because of Rosenquist’s position as a tenured teacher.
According to the suit, the parents met with the school’s principal, superintendent, and assistant superintendent in February 2022. The administrators admitted that the issue was not handled properly and that they had not known about the off-curriculum materials used by Rosenquist.
The parents are accusing the school of negligence in failing to properly monitor the classroom and train and supervise staff. The lawsuit alleges that the student in question was placed in a different classroom but is now being bullied and ostracized by her classmates. The family is suing for unspecified damages after having to pay for lawyers’ fees and psychological treatment for their daughter, claiming that the ordeal has caused the child to suffer from humiliation, anxiety, emotional pain, and trauma.
According to the family’s lawyer, their daughter continues to identify as female.
“At no point did she identify as male,” Wabnik said. “The notion that she identified as male was foisted upon her by Rosenquist.”
“The psychological and social damage Rosenquist caused this child and her family was immense,” she added. Rosenquist was reportedly removed from the classroom but is now teaching younger students.
“Incredibly, the district still has Rosenquist in the classroom where she can similarly harm other innocent children,” said Wabnik.
Comsewogue School District Superintendent Jennifer Quinn said in a statement to Fox News, “After a thorough investigation and consultation with our attorney, action is [being] taken in accordance with applicable laws and collective bargaining agreements. Please be assured that this has been done.”