New Mexico Adolescent Says She Was Betrayed by Her School’s Embrace of Gender Ideology
Friend,
The following story contains graphic themes that some readers may find upsetting and is intended for readers 18 years of age and older.
“I was raped. I was raped. I was raped. F—ing kill me.” Maggie* could barely believe the words she was reading in her daughter’s diary. But the words were real. And they were the first to finally explain the sudden mental health crisis that had captured her formerly happy, healthy, 12-year-old daughter.
The diary entry referred back to an incident in October 2021, when her daughter Ray*, a 6th grader at The ASK Academy charter school in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, was allegedly raped inside the girls’ bathroom by an older, biologically male student.
When the male student first entered the girls’ restroom, Ray said she was washing her hands and didn’t take particular notice of the student’s sex, nor was she aware of his “gender identity.”
But before she knew it, the male student walked over to her, pinned her against the counter, and wrestled her to the floor. After hitting her head, he allegedly held her down, ripped her pants, and raped her.
Friend, this is a devastating example of what can happen when schools adopt policies that open girls’ and women’s spaces to men, and when lawmakers choose to prioritize the small group of transgender-identifying Americans at the expense of women and girls. It’s for this reason that, despite the ongoing investigations, Maggie and Ray decided to tell their story to Independent Women's Forum.
"Maggie [the mother] now believes the main reason a male student was alone with her daughter that day, and had the opportunity to rape her, is because the school had fully embraced gender ideology."
Today, Ray no longer feels comfortable using public restrooms and facilities by herself. At school, unless she’s with a group of girls, she uses a private bathroom in the nurse’s office, which she got special permission to do. She now needs medication to manage her anxiety and depression, keeps a knife close by when she’s home alone, and has her family’s large, mixed-breed dog sleep next to her at night.
“I just want people to hear us because it feels like parents aren’t paying attention, aren’t taking action, or don’t want to open their eyes to what’s happening,” Maggie said. “We had a nearly perfect life before this trauma. We grieve the loss of her innocence, safety, and how things were before she was assaulted.”
“We will never be the same.”
Young women like Ray increasingly feel betrayed by school administrators, law enforcement, and politicians as they face worsening hostility and even violence in efforts to protect sex-segregated spaces.
We cannot sit by idly as women are told to keep our mouths shut about feelings of discomfort or ignore our natural instincts.
IWF Director of Storytelling Kelsey Bolar and I co-reported this exclusive with the hope that this family—and additional survivors who fear speaking out—may find some amount of justice.
Their story reflects the larger shift happening in society, where the feelings and comfort of biological men take precedence over the feelings, safety, and privacy of women. We encourage you to read and share.
Thank you,
Andrea
*To protect their identities and the integrity of the ongoing criminal investigation, Maggie* and Ray* spoke under pseudonyms.
