Pembroke Pines high school students break their silence on sexual violence and sexual harassment

Throughout this article, pseudonyms are given to the majority of those who have spoken out on this topic of sexual violence and sexual assault. It’s for their protection. 

Please note that this article contains graphic imagery that may be triggering for some.

It’s a Monday on June 1, 2022, and Faith, a rising senior from South Florida's Pembroke Pines Charter High School, swipes through Instagram stories to eventually see her friend’s rant about the sexual harassment and racism present in their school. Ignited with fury, she asks her friend if she can repost this rant on her own Instagram story, strongly feeling that it contained “important things that people should know” about some of their fellow classmates. Her friend gives her permission. Soon enough, many start to praise Faith for “exposing these guys,” and some even tell her confessions of their own. That’s what sparked her to create an Instagram questionnaire, an action that led her to receive and publicly post more than 40 anonymous confessions about sexual violence, sexual harassment, racism, homophobic behavior, and other social issues at her high school.

Particularly, Faith says “there were at least 10 girls” who broke their silence on their encounters with sexual violence and sexual harassment at the school. The girls had called out the names of their alleged assailants, who were generally other Pembroke Pines Charter High School students and staff. There was even one case in which a girl had experienced an uncomfortable situation with a substitute teacher who had tried to hand her a dildo. Faith was shocked by the numerous confessions that she received.

As she thought that she was merely giving a voice to those who are often silenced, Faith never anticipated for her Instagram questionnaire to “blow up.” Very quickly, the students who were named as sexual assaulters, sexual harassers, and rapists bombarded her with messages on social media. They argued that the posted confessions were false accusations that were damaging to their reputations. One male student accused her of trying to start her own version of the show 13 Reasons Why.

When asked to make a comment for this article, four of the alleged assailants showed no interest in speaking. Another alleged assailant, John, didn’t agree to an interview, but he did share his perspective of how some of the accusations were false and wrongfully “meant to be funny.” His response is pictured on the left.

Sam, on the other hand, was the only one to agree to an interview. He actually acknowledges that the accusations made against him were true, and he expresses how he’s really “cleaned up” since. He confesses to sexually harassing girls back in his eighth grade year, as he had wrongfully handled their nude photos. Now that it's been three years since he had apologized, Sam now tries to keep his distance from the girls out of respect. However, he worries about how this recent Instagram questionnaire situation that “came out of the blue” would potentially harm his future.

"I was immature. I was stupid," says Sam.

Nevertheless, three of the alleged assailants’ parents ended up contacting the high school’s administration about Faith Smith’s controversial Instagram questionnaire. In response, the school's assistant principal called Faith’s mom, suggesting that Faith should apologize for her actions in regard of her “safety.” Faith's mom assured that Faith sent out that apology on her Snapchat the next day.

Since the incident, Faith has deactivated her Instagram to stay away from those who were riled up about the questionnaire. On Twitter, though, she seems to have gained support from some classmates who have tweeted about their opposition against those who were “protecting” the alleged assailants and harassers. Very soon, these tweets inspired many other current and former students of Pembroke Pines Charter High School to tweet about their own sexual violence and sexual harassment experiences that they’ve had with both students and staff from their school. These Twitter confessions, coming from both boys and girls, suggested that the school’s history of sexual violence and sexual harassment dates all the way back to its Class of 2017. Several names were called out.

Many of these current and former students also made it clear on Twitter that the administration at Pembroke Pines Charter High School doesn’t do enough to support its students who were victims of sexual violence and sexual assault. Even though one of the school’s counselors, Gianna Scott, had recently emphasized to me in an email how she and the other three counselors follow the guidelines of the American School Counselor Association to approach these serious situations, several victims remain doubtful about finding comfort and safety with the school administration. They believe that the school administration does not seem to take any further action after deciding if their cases should lead to disciplinary action or not. Some mention that they had no assistance from the school to minimize the effects of their traumatic encounters, while others also remark how the school never really brings awareness to sexual violence and sexual harassment in their community. There appears to be no solid support system for these victims. Does the school administration at Pembroke Pines Charter High School not do “enough”? Are they normalizing predatory behavior in this way?

The following stories are from eight current and former students of Pembroke Pines Charter High School. They’ve experienced sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape in their encounters with other classmates. One of these stories is a sexual harassment case in which a teacher was the alleged assailant. Some girls decided to use a pseudonym for their protection, while others used it because they just weren’t ready to publicly share their stories yet. These shared experiences are from those who remained silent and from those who had tried to seek assistance from the school but didn’t get it.

1. JANE, raped in 10th grade, sexually harassed in 11th grade
(Class of 2020)

“I remember the early parts of the gathering. A few people were there, and we were drinking. I was very visibly drunk and everyone at the party was aware that I was too drunk to consent. The person that raped me supposedly paid off another guy with a pack of gum to keep the men at the party off of me. Soon, everyone except my rapist left… the only things I remember was the pain in the back of my neck because it was pressed into my windowsill, and he was on top of me and asked me if his penis was bigger than my ex’s. 

I woke up the next day to his dad knocking on the door to pick him up, and I saw that he was in my bed. He left, and I went to the bathroom and was super sore. I saw a condom in my trash can. The time I saw him at school, he asked me out, to which I declined.

This happened in early sophomore year, in September. I didn’t want to tell anyone that it happened because my mom always told me that ‘if you get that drunk, that’s what happens.’ So I blamed myself.

I kept it pretty small, until he started telling people we had consensual sex and people started up the rumors that I was promiscuous again. So, I stopped keeping it a secret. I told the office about it in my junior year because half of my classes were with him. I would see him every single day. They never changed his schedule, and they didn’t change mine... and then in my senior year I still got classes with him, even though I was promised it wouldn’t happen again...

...I kinda just went numb. I started using self harm again as an outlet. He never spoke to me again, just about me. But his sister harassed me in my junior year and sent me nude photos of myself that I had taken in my freshman year.

I think the school hides a lot of stuff that goes on… I’d gone to a guidance counselor in my freshman year about being bullied and called a slut on my bus, to which the counselor suggested that I stop ‘being so friendly’ to the guys at school…

I understand why people blamed me or didn’t believe me. I’ve had a thick history of being a problem kid, but what people don’t understand is that makes you more of a target… To this day I am still not heard or respected because of what happened and am often called a liar…

...He had no repercussions, no lawsuit, no charges, no loss of credibility, no loss of friends. We’ve graduated, and I’m still speaking my truth. And I’m still not listened to.”

2. TANYA, sexually harassed in 10th grade
(Class of 2021)

“It happened a year ago, in February, when I first got exposed. 

It was Charter Night. I get a call from someone...he told me that there was pictures of me being shown around at a party...He said that Keenan was showing them, showing off to a group of guys…

...I’ve only had two people I’ve ever shown myself intimately to...and I called Isaiah. At first he lied to me and said no, that it wasn’t him. And a couple minutes later he broke down and said that it was him, that he was so sorry…

...And obviously, I wasn’t really focused on that. I was focused on making sure that the pictures were deleted because...I didn’t send them to him. It was on Facetime when we were having a moment, and he just took screenshots without me knowing…

...He sent it months before it actually happened...and then Keenan showed it to a lot of people. That’s how it happened…

...It was horrible. I remember I didn’t eat for a straight two weeks. I tried to talk to him, and I told him off. And then at some point I felt guilty, and then I was looking toward being his friend again because I felt bad...It was really bad. I wasn’t myself. I didn’t tell anyone, except like two people. It took me a while to even become intimate with the person that I was with at the time (and still am with). 

He kept asking for forgiveness. He knew what he did. Thing is, though, with him, he kept saying that he was so sorry, that he doesn’t think I deserve it...and all that stuff. Obviously, I don’t really care because he still did what he did. I was in a horrible mental state. It affected me. I don’t trust people like that anymore… 

...I also self-harmed and I hurt myself pretty badly. Then after a while, my friends really helped me. I was considering switching schools...and I was really about to...

...And it was such a normal thing to get exposed. In my middle school, so many  people, so many girls, were getting exposed on group chats and stuff like that. And  my best friend got exposed a year before. Like it was so normal, and I feel like if I [spoken up about my case], it wouldn't really make a difference…”

After Tanya posted a public YouTube video about her past experience with sexual assault, the police eventually approached her and her family. She’s decided to press charges, as she doesn’t want this situation to “slip away” as her situation with Isaiah did. She says that she’ll make sure “it won’t happen again.”

3. MILA, sexually harassed in 8th grade 
(Class of 2021)

“In 8th grade, there was a point where I was in aerobics class. So, I would wear tights. Because aerobics class was my sixth period, I didn’t have to change. So, I didn’t change.

And I remember for a week, I went on the bus, and there were multiple accounts for a whole entire week where he’d grope me...on my butt, on my thigh, and my boob at some point. 

At first I didn’t say anything about it...but what kind of was sad was that I forced myself to kind of enjoy that or think that that was normal. And I continued to pursue his validation because I thought, Oh, I’m on his good side because he was doing things like this…

...I always blame myself for it…even afterwards I would feel very shameful, you know, after those multiple accounts. It wasn’t until later that I realized, Wow I was sexually assaulted…

...A lot of us are scared. If you would’ve seen the way that people were harassing [Faith Smith] off of social media…you wouldn’t speak out. We either feel as if we’re going to get backlash for it, we’re going to have people tell us that it’s not true, or no one’s going to care at all. That’s why I stopped talking about it…”

Mila has only told some friends her story, but a good part of them brush it off as a “past” thing. She’s never felt comfortable telling her parents or the school administration, though. She doesn’t appear to trust the school administration to support her, as she feels that the school doesn’t really prioritize the “safety” and “mental health” of its students. She says that “if you’d give people a safe space to open up...I feel like we’d have more people comfortable coming out with these things and more people will be held accountable."

4. ALANA, sexually assaulted in 8th grade, 9th grade, 
& 10th grade
(Class of 2021)

“The first time I was in 8th grade, and the second time I was in 10th grade. 

The first time I was at my [older] sister’s friend’s birthday party. I didn’t have much friends there. I wasn’t even in high school yet, so I didn’t know people.

So I went into her room, and I was just sitting there on my phone. And the birthday person’s brother came inside, and he was drunk and stuff. He just started touching me.

The second in 10th grade, I was at a friend’s house, and one of the guys that was there grabbed me by force into a room. He put me in front of him and started putting his hands on me. 

He started from the bottom up. He started putting his hands on my vaginal area, and then he put his hands under my shirt and started groping my boobs. He did ask me, ‘Is this OK?’ I said no. He asked, ‘Can I do this?’ I said no. I told him no three times, and I tried to get out of it. But he just held me tighter, so I couldn’t get out... As it kept escalating, someone walked in, and they took me out of the situation. So, it didn’t get past that...

...I did tell some friends that were at the house when it happened… But at the moment, I didn’t really take it seriously. I was like, Oh, it didn’t get too bad. It could’ve been worse. But then I realized that I was kind of feeling down… 

...After...he was telling me that nothing’s going to happen, that it’s gonna be shoved under the rug…

...So, I never took it seriously. But I was in the hospital for like two weeks in April, and I was talking to the therapist. I realized that he was really, like, groping my boobs...I don’t let anyone touch me there…

...After the night that it happened, he texted me. He said, ‘I’m sorry I make things awkward,’ with the laughing emoji. And then he continued to tell me, ‘Let’s not talk about this. Let’s not tell anyone...’”

After our interview, Alana asked if her “uncomfortable” situation with another student in her freshman year counted as sexual assault. During an after school nap, she woke up to the student having his hands “down there.” She remembered how she quickly closed her eyes after seeing this, thinking to herself, “Please stop." 

Now, Alana is pressing charges against the assailant who sexually assaulted her in 10th grade. She’s been very overwhelmed, but she feels that it's the best step for her. 

She also says that she never went to the school administration about her terrible encounters, as she feels that they don’t do their best to protect victims and make sure that they’re okay. 

5. LUCY, sexually assaulted in 10th grade
(Class of 2019)

“It was my sophomore year, and I was in the band room and heading towards the front door that led to the M building hallway when I felt something hit my butt. I turned around and saw Mr. Jason with a pile of music in his hand. He looked me up and down and said “How you doing?” and walked away...

...After he spoke to me, I just froze and turned away. I was in shock and couldn’t figure out how to react... I went to the office during my next class and spoke to [an administrator]. She had me fill out an incident report and had me go into detail about what happened. I told the story to her maybe four times in one sitting. She told me she would check the camera footage and talk to Mr. Jason to see his side of the story. 

The next day, I was called into her office again, and she said that the way the cameras in the band room were set...it didn’t capture what happened because ‘the camera just wasn’t at an angle where they could see it.’ She also spoke to Mr. Jason and said that he denied everything, that I just misinterpreted an accidental touch. 

They even allowed Mr. Jason to go up to me right before my next class with him started, and he began profusely apologizing and basically saying that I made the whole thing up and that this was all a misunderstanding. 

After that, nothing happened. It was completely dismissed, and I know I am not the only person who has felt uncomfortable with this teacher... I felt completely shrugged off. They never brought it up to me again, and Mr. Jason faced no consequences. 

I was initially trying to convince myself that it was just an accident and nothing really happened… It was extremely damaging on my mental health, especially after it being blown off. And I was made out to look like the aggressor. 

I stayed in band because I loved playing my instrument, and I thought I could just avoid him as much as possible. I was in band through my junior year before deciding to leave. He brought up the incident again after it happened, saying ‘I’ve been thinking about you a lot recently, that’s all,’ when I had to go to his office to give him a form…”

6. RUBY, raped in 9th grade
(Class of 2020)

“It was towards the end of freshman year. It was with my then-boyfriend…

We were originally having consensual sex. It was a normal thing. I would go to his house on Friday and we would hangout and then...we would do the stuff… but that day...it was just different.

In the middle of it, I said, ‘Hey, can you stop?’ and then he never did. And in that moment. I kind of knew what was going on, but since I was a naive little freshman I was just like, He probably just didn’t hear me. So, I told him again to stop. And he didn't, again.

And then I told him multiple times until he eventually finished himself. And when it was over, I had an inkling that he kind of just realized what he just did ‘cause he started crying and saying I'm sorry. And again, me being naive and everything, I told him it was okay and that next time when I say stop, just stop. 

But unfortunately there was a next time, and it was maybe a couple months later...and at this point, when it happened that second time, I just...laid there. And if I remember correctly, I was crying because at that point it’s obvious he’s not going to stop…

...At first I only told my friends in sophomore year...At first they were supporting me, which was great. But one of my friends, a couple of months later...I find out that she was starting to date him…

...but at this point when I told my friends, I also told one of his friends and she confronted him about it...and I guess rumors started going around that I was lying, which of course is to be expected. It’s just the fact that him and I know what happened that day.”

Ruby went to a counselor in her sophomore year to discuss the situation. She didn’t want to name her assailant, and so there was no legal action taken. The school administration also did not act any further than suggesting that Ruby gets into counseling. Ruby didn’t go through with that suggestion at the time, though.

However, at this moment, she’s looking for counseling as “it’s finally hit” her all these years later.

7. BETTY, sexually harassed in 11th grade
(Class of 2021)

“A friend of mine...me and him have been friends for a really long time. And one day I hadn’t gone to school…

And him and another girl in that class...he had showed her pictures of someone naked...and he was telling her that it was me in the pictures…

The way I found out was the girl and I had gotten into an argument in class, and she was like, “Oh, this person is going around showing everyone your naked pictures.” And then I was like, So what is going on?

I found out he was showing people these pictures of I guess something he found on the internet, telling people that it was me. 

Again, this was a really long-time friend of mine. So then, I had never spoken to him again about it, and I never told the school about it...

...We had not been talking at all, and we had a whole class together. We had not spoken at all, and then a few months later, it came to my attention that he was showing people a videotape of people having sex and saying that it was me and him. So, when that happened, of course I got really hurt about it. There was a whole altercation at school…

...So then the next morning, as soon as I got to school, they pulled me out of class to go down to the office... They started asking me questions…I told them.

Then pretty much, the boy just denied everything, and his mom had said that she got a lawyer because I’m slandering his name. And the school was just like, there’s nothing I can do about it because I didn’t report it the first time…

...And I don’t think I got any support from them, administration themselves. It was more support from teachers. But administration? Not at all…

Of course I felt terrible about it. I cried for many days. It reached a point where I didn’t want to go to school anymore… I wanted to leave the school. I begged my mom to let me leave the school, but she was more like, ‘Doing that was letting him win...This is where you belong. You shouldn’t let someone else dictate that...’”

For the rest of her school year, Betty often skipped the class that she shared with her harasser. 

She points out that it’s uncomfortable to report sexual violence and sexual harassment when those in power, like President Donald Trump, overlook such things. She also thinks that the school should create a more safe environment for people to come out with cases like hers, saying that it can be very easy for them to “do more” and merely “make a statement about it.”

8. QUINN, sexually assaulted in 10th grade
(Class of 2020)

“I used to ride the bus some days sophomore year when my parents couldn’t take me, and that’s where I met him. We became friends, and he would move up and sit next to me every day... 

...Eventually one day, he grabbed my boob. It was out of nowhere, I guess in the context to something we’d been talking about but completely unexpected and so sudden that I didn't react. I wasn’t sure what to say or how he’d even deemed it okay to do, but I brushed it off, not fully processing the situation till much later. 

I started feeling more uncomfortable around him. And I was taking the time to think about what had happened, confused because I didn't think of myself to be the type of person to give off those types of inappropriately inviting signals or hints. I ended up realizing it wasn’t my fault. He would still try so hard to talk to me when he saw me, even though I would have to tell him i was “tired” or “not in the mood to talk” so he wouldn’t speak to me. 

He’d ask me countless questions like if I’d send pics, when would I lose my virginity, et cetera. He would constantly swear to me, at 15, that he was going to take my virginity “no matter what.” If I hadn’t lost it, he was going to be the one to take it. I never said much because I knew he would just tell me to calm down, that it was a joke. So, I would ignore him and his stupid comments. 

One day after school I was with a group of my friends when he came up from behind me and grabbed my ass. I spun around so fast, angry, yelling at him and telling him off, trying to slap the shit outta him. I felt so completely disrespected I couldn’t just brush it off. He knew what he was doing. 

He ended up texting me later, begging me to be friends with him and asking me why I was so mad, that it was just a joke. He said he talks to and touches all his friends that way and that they never got mad. But I know that’s not true. 

To this day I’m not sure why I didn't go to administration. I guess I figured they wouldn’t have been able to do much for just grabbing me, on top of him claiming it was all “jokes.” But looking back, I wish I would’ve— he was 17/18 and I was 15. I think I also subconsciously realized the fact that they’d done little to nothing in support of victims who’d experienced so much worse than I at the hands of another student or predator at charter. I did tell my parents, but they got so mad that I asked them not to do anything…”

It’s clear that these victims at Pembroke Pines Charter High School never really had faith in the idea of their school administration being there to support them. Even as some of these cases are in knowledge of the administration, no further actions were taken to advocate for the victimized students. No further actions were taken to promote the awareness of sexual violence and sexual harassment.

As many others remain silent or have rather chose to discuss their unfortunate sexual encounters on Twitter and other social media outlets, sexual violence and sexual harassment continue to be largely ignored issues at the school. Moreover, these issues may just as well be overlooked in other high schools, middle schools, colleges, and our community as a whole.

So, when will Pembroke Pines Charter High School start to take action to protect their students? In an email, the principal, Peter Bayer, stressed to me that the school has to follow the Broward County Public Schools Code of Conduct in setting “consequences and school actions” for sexual violence and sexual harassment cases. He does mention, though, that he’s met with a recent graduate to discuss potential action in raising “awareness.”

On the other hand, one of the school’s student-run clubs, Girl Power, is planning to take initiative in setting up a “buddy system” to comfort those who may feel unsafe on campus. These Girl Power members, like Alana, demand that “more should be done" in regard to emotional support for the victims. Alana even states that victims shouldn’t feel powerless in a school system that’s supposed to protect its students, urging for her high school to acknowledge its "rape culture":

Pembroke Pines Charter High School may not be able to seek legal justice for these cases, but will it make the extra effort to stand with its student body? Will it start to prioritize spreading the awareness of sexual violence and sexual harassment, along with its annual dress-code check-ups and lectures on drugs?

The students would like to know.

UPDATE: Shortly after this article was published, a petition was created on Change.org (https://www.change.org/p/pembroke-pines-charter-high-school-administration-a-petition-to-bring-justice-to-survivors-at-ppchs) and demanded that Pembroke Pines Charter High School took certain actions to support the sexual assault and sexual violence victims at the school. The petition received more than 1,000 signatures from the community. The principal, Peter Bayer, responded to the petition on the website, but it's still unclear if any action has been taken since.