BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Attorney Kayla Ferrel Onder is planning to file a legal complaint against Buffalo Public Schools, alleging that a dozen of her clients are victims of failed abuse reporting and sexual assault.
Onder runs the Sexual Abuse Department at OnderLaw, LLC, based in the St. Louis, Missouri area. She said that her team is looking into several allegations of abuse cover-ups, mandated reporter failures, harmful disciplinary practices and sexual assault.
“I’m accepting cases where a child is claiming they were sexually abused by a staff member, somebody affiliated with the school, some sort of representative, and we will look into some student-on-student cases depending on the facts,” Onder said. “At this point, I represent a dozen clients, and I predict there will be many more.”
Of those victims she is representing with ties to Buffalo Public Schools, she told me some were younger than high school when these events took place.
“Number one, we always hope for accountability," Onder said. "Survivors and especially children who have felt like they were pushed aside or not believed in any form or fashion, number one, what they want is accountability. Number two, a lot of times they are left with lifetime scars…we see those injuries…and of course we hope for civil and monetary compensation for those children.”
Onder told me she plans to have a written court complaint with more details on what her clients faced submitted within the next 30 days. Victims’ names will not be included in that complaint.
Onder said that anybody else who has a story they would like to add to this case can reach her by email at konder@onderlaw.com
Buffalo police detective Richard Hy previously accused Buffalo Public Schools officials of covering up abuse allegations and obstructing police investigations.
Hy made the original accusations on the Unsubscribe Podcast in April. He previously spoke with 7 News about why he decided to go public with his allegations. You can read more here.
Onder did not confirm if Hy's comments are connected to her current clients, but said that the podcast may have encouraged potential victims to come forward.
The Buffalo Board of Education held a special meeting on April 28 and responded to the allegations, saying it was initiating an independent external investigation.
Earlier this month, the board held another special meeting and met privately in executive session for four hours. Members were initially set to vote on hiring an independent investigator, but instead, they delayed it, opting to expand the search.
The next school board meeting will take place on Wednesday.
7 News took a closer look at two cases that Hy highlighted in the original podcast. You can watch the report below and read more here.
Hy has since appeared in more national podcasts, slamming the school district for not responding quickly to his original allegations. He appeared again on the Unsubscribe Podcast and also appeared on the Black Rifle Coffee Podcast, where he made another new allegation specifically targeting teachers. You can watch our report below and read more here.
