(Photo credit: Bellevue School District)
The family of a young man is suing the Bellevue School District after they say administrators failed to protect him after he was falsely accused of assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
It started when the then-16-year-old, who we’re not naming because he’s still underage, broke up with a girl he dated for the summer. He says that quickly escalated and included her hitting him, with the initial incident partly captured on video. That was followed by what the suit describes as her campaign to “create chaos” for him.
The suit says the claims that the boy abused and assaulted her were later found false by four independent investigations. It says the girl admitted to hitting him but that there was no discipline, just a plan to keep them separated at school, which the suit says he followed but the girl did not. It also claims she even refused to sign the agreement to remain separated.
The family says she then led a campaign to publicly paint the teen as an abuser, including a smear campaign on social media, signs hung in restrooms, claims he’s an abuser in a student newsletter handed out widely at lunch time and even getting her group of supporters to try to get him ousted from the robotics club, which is something the boy loves because he hopes for a career in tech.
This all culminated in what the suit calls a “riot” with the girl and her group of supporters using megaphones to label this boy and others as abusers, which was partially witnessed by his father until he said he simply couldn’t stand to listen any longer. The family says the school knew was going to happen and didn’t stop until teachers and administrators became the target of vulgar chants. Even then, they say there were no punishments.
The boy, who’s now 17, says it all made him a villain at school. “So I have been constantly harassed at the school,” he says, “I’ve been getting messages still to this day, people telling me to kill myself, people threatening me. It’s just been constant.” His father says he’s incredibly courageous because he insists on finishing his time at the school and refuses to leave, which the boy believes would feed into the false narrative he’s an abuser.
The family says the District allowed all of this to go on while it refused to clear the boy’s name after the abuse claims were found false so, in addition to damages, they’re suing to get the judge to order the release of the investigations so that they can get their son’s side of the story out there even though serious damage has already been done. They worry that damage might be irreparable and could undermine his future because the social media campaign against the boy will likely show up when colleges or jobs he applies for run a check for his social media activity.
The Bellevue School District sent Northwest Newsradio the following statement:
“We do not comment on individual student records for their privacy and protection, respectfully. The district takes Title IX and Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying allegations very seriously and has policies that guide and assist us in supporting our students.”
“This year, BSD students led the school community in constructive and productive conversations that highlight the opportunity to improve processes. Our students, educators, and school leaders are continuing to listen to each other and work together to learn and develop more transparent processes that support, honor and empower them and their families.”
