A teenage girl has ended her life after she got sexually abused by two boys and the school’s staff ignored her cries for help.
According to the parents’ lawsuit, their 16-year-old daughter, Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios, was bullied by her classmates on a regular basis. In addition, she was allegedly also physically abused and body shamed ever since she entered the Harry S. Truman High School.
As parents Heriberto Rios and Nelly Vizcarrondo claimed, their daughter’s cries for help would always get ignored by the school’s staff.
After months of abuse, the 9th grader had enough and jumped off the roof of an apartment building in The Bronx.
“The employees of Harry S. Truman had actual notice of the intimidation but failed to intervene,” the heartbroken parents suggested in the lawsuit against the school.
As they also claimed, the school failed to notify them of their daughter’s absence and refused to acknowledge her plea for help.
According to the lawsuit, Mya was sexually assaulted by two classmates who forced her to perform oral sex on the day she committed suicide.
After the assault, the disturbing news quickly spread, resulting in teens making fun of Mya and calling her names. Unable to handle the pressure, the 16-year-old left the school early and leaped to her death.
One day prior to the girl’s tragic death, a friend of Mya visited the school’s guidance counselor and alerted them of the 9th grader’s situation.
While the counselor agreed to talk to Mya, they never informed the girl’s parents of their conversation.
“The guidance counselor saw and willfully ignored the signs that M.A. V-R was suffering severe emotional pain and depression as a result of the bullying she was receiving at school,” the parents stated in the lawsuit.
In a statement, the parents’ attorney, John Scola, said:
“The tragic circumstances surrounding my client’s death could have been prevented. We hope that this case will cause the New York City Department of Education to reevaluate their policies and properly train their employees on issues related to bullying so that no student feels so hopeless they feel suicide is the answer.
“We hope that this case will prevent helpless students from taking their own lives in the future.”
Following the girl’s tragic death, the Department of Education stated all “students deserve safe and supportive school environments.”
“This was a tragic loss, and students deserve safe and supportive school environments,” they wrote.
“We recognize the deep impact bullying can have, and schools are required to immediately investigate and address any allegation.”
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