FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Two defendants in a lawsuit filed by a former Springdale school student who says she was sexually harassed and assaulted while at school have received an extension to file their initial response in court.

Alissa Cawood sued the district, principal Joseph Rollins and assistant principal Mark Oesterle in the Western District of Arkansas Federal Court on November 1. The suit specifically states that it arises from “sexual harassment, sexual assault, and the deprivation of bodily integrity suffered by a young student at the hands of the Defendants.”

On November 18, separate defendants Joseph Rollins and the Springdale School District filed a motion for additional time to respond to Cawood’s suit. The filing noted that the plaintiff’s attorney had no objection or opposition to the granting of an extension.

The defendants asked for and were granted a new deadline of December 14 to “answer or otherwise plead” in the case.

The suit alleges that all actions took place when the plaintiff was a student at the School of Innovation (SOI) or Har-Ber High School and it states that Oesterle engaged in “grooming behavior” toward Cawood, culminating in “a pattern of sexual harassment, molestations, sexual assaults, and violations of bodily integrity.”

The filing alleges that Oesterle first “took an interest” in her when she was 13 years old and in eighth grade. It says that he asked for her phone number and “began to message her privately via text and over social media.”

The suit states that the principal and the district were aware of this behavior and did nothing to stop it, nor did they provide any warning to Cawood’s grandparents, who were her legal guardians. The suit explains that Oesterle’s communications took on “a more sexual nature” in the summer between Cawood’s eighth and ninth grade school years.

The suit notes her attendance fell off, her mental health deteriorated, and she “suffered from persistent anxiety.” She was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a “direct result of Oesterle’s repeated sexual harassment and abuse.”

Cawood seeks damages for multiple reasons, including emotional suffering, mental anguish, humiliation and loss of self-worth, medical expenses, loss of educational benefits and loss of employment opportunities. The initial filing requests a jury trial.