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.
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