Teen Victim of Cyber-Bullying Files Lawsuit
Archdiocese of Miami, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy Named On Suit
POSTED: Thursday, July 24, 2008
UPDATED: 1:53 pm EDT July 24,
2008
MIAMI -- A South Florida teen and her family are suing the Archdiocese of Miami for what her attorney calls "a viciously coordinated bullying campaign by the girl's classmates at a private, all-girls diocesan school, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy."
The 15-year-old girl was scheduled to begin the 10th grade in the fall.
According to her attorneys, "What began as verbal and physical taunts, quickly escalated into cyber-bullying and the creation of a 'hate page' on Facebook, spreading from the classroom to her social networks and friends."
The lawsuit alleges that the school ignored anti-bullying policies.
"Despite numerous pleas by the teen's parents to the school counselor and the school principal, Lourdes and the Archdiocese did little to intervene on the teen's behalf," lawyers said.
The complaint also alleges that as a result of the school's and the Archdiocese's failure to enforce its anti-bullying policies, the threats, taunting and humiliation continued, both in school and on the Internet, for 6 months.
"I've never seen it get so out of control," the girl said Thursday afternoon. "It was never stopped. It was the first time in my life that my parents couldn't do anything and the people that I trusted to do something didn't."
As a result of the bullying, the girl was forced to drop out of school, lawyers said.
The state of Florida recently passed an anti-bullying law, the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act. It was sparked by the suicide of Florida teen Jeffrey Johnston, who was bullied in person and online. The law requires all school districts to have and enforce anti-bullying policies.
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