By Cassondra Kirby-Mullins
ckirby@herald-leader.com
Parents of a Lawrence County High school student have filed a lawsuit alleging that school officials did not protect their 17-year-old daughter, who was severely beaten at the school in August.
Jerry and Melissa Moore say they repeatedly warned school officials that their daughter, Jerica, had been threatened by another student, according to he lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Ashland.
Specifically, Jerry Moore, the girl’s father, went to the school on Aug. 11 and spoke with James Boggs, the school’s principal, after Jerica received a message that “an attack was coming,” the lawsuit says. That same day, the principal was also given a copy of a handwritten letter which indicated that the juvenile was going to attack Jerica.
Boggs and Debra Delong, the assistant principal, had assured the Moores “that appropriate protection measures were in place,” according to the lawsuit.
However, on August 12, the juvenile brutally attacked Jerica on school property, punching her and hitting her in the back of the head with a glass candle stick holder.
The juvenile attacker was not named in the lawsuit.
Jerica’s wounds were so deep that doctors placed staples in the back of her head. The family incurred $10,000 in medical expenses, the lawsuit says.
Jerica “has experienced and will likely continue to experience pain and suffering,” according to the lawsuit which names Boggs, Delong and the Lawrence County Board of Education.
The Moores are seeking a jury trial and asking for compensation for their child’s past and future pain and suffering and for attorneys’ fees.
Neither Boggs nor Delong could be immediately reached for comment.
This is a very unfortunate situation, however educators can’t be everyone at once. I’m sure that they did the best that they could, however I feel that this article misses the main point that the juvenile who perpetrated this attack should be held financially and legally responsible. We had a situation last year that involved a fight published on youtube. It resulted in the juvenile being held legally responsible with being taken to Juvenile Detention, a number of years of probation as well as expulsion from school. It was an extreme punishment for an extreme situation, but these kids need to know that they are big enough to inflict permanent harm. They are so past the days of a scuffle on the playground. Kids today are much more ready to embrace violence and use whatever they can get their hands on as weapons. It needs to stop and be taken seriously by parents, educators, and the law.
This is terrible !!!!
The school failed to protect this child from harm. The parents went to school begged for intervention from the school and nothing was done. ( too busy chasing kids tardy to class to stop this horrific crime )
It doesn’t take a scientist to figure which is more important. The school is responisble for not stopping this and should be held accountable.
Michael you are kidding right? It’s obvious the administration of the school did not take this seriously. Had they done so, everyone would have been looking out for that young girl and her attacker. Did they talk to the attacker? Did they contact the parents? If it were THEIR child they would have. I hope local law enforcement has arrested the attacker for assault with a weapon with intent to inflict bodily harm. No excuses anymore. I could see it if they had not been personally warned by the parents but they were asked to assist and be vigilent because they knew their child was in danger while at the school. Responsibility comes with the job! Take responsibility and accept responsibility for your actions, or in this case…inaction.
The school officials should most certainly be held accountable if the facts of this lawsuit are true. They were warned repeatedly that this girl was in danger and were given a handwritten note that indicated such, then they claimed appropriate saftey measures were in place, which was obviously untrue. Too many school officials are hesitant to step in when students are threatened with violence. If their negligence directly results in a student being harmed, as it appears was the case here, they should be fired and fined.
I agree that educators can’t be everywhere at once and that students need to be held accountable for their actions, however from the sound of it the school administrators “dropped the ball” once again. Violence in our schools is getting worse all the time and despite all the attempts by the media and our government to get teachers and administrators to take bullying seriously, they still don’t get it. I;ll bet this girl wasn’t a popular cheerleader or wealthy, so they probably didn’t take the time to properly investigate. This kind of apathy is what causes kids to be seriously psychologically damaged for life, or worse yet, killed.
Yeah, if the administration had no knowledge of the threats before the attack happened, that’s one thing, you put that 100% on the attacker. But they KNEW!!! They were even given PROOF that an attack was imminent. If having this information, and they still couldn’t put a stop to this, then they must be found liable!
obvious neglect by the administration if the facts displayed are true. why was the offending student not suspended or expelled under the ‘no bully’ clause? administrators can’t be everywhere at all times and these tools are supposed to prevent these kind of occurences from happening.