Friday, April 3, 2009

Teen commits suicide due to bullying: parents sue school

Bullying is one of my hot buttons. This is such a tragic story and frightening that this kind of bullying could happen in front of teachers without them doing anything about it.

My heart goes out to this family.

From ABC News:

Eric Mohat, 17, was harassed so mercilessly in high school that when one bully said publicly in class, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one will miss you," he did.

Now his parents, William and Janis Mohat of Mentor, Ohio, have filed a lawsuit in federal court, saying that their son endured name-calling, teasing, constant pushing and shoving and hitting in front of school officials who should have protected him.

The lawsuit -- filed March 27, alleges that the quiet but likable boy, who was involved in theater and music, was called "gay," "fag," "queer" and "homo" and often in front of his teachers. Most of the harassment took place in math class and the teacher -- an athletic coach -- was accused of failing to protect the boy.

"When you lose a child like this it destroys you in ways you can't even describe," Eric Mohat's father told ABCNews.com.

The parents aren't seeking any compensation; rather, they are asking that Mentor High School recognize their son's death as a "bullicide" and put in place what they believe is a badly needed anti-bullying program.

3 comments:

Henry's mom said...

What a sad story. One of my biggest fears, Henry getting picked on in school.

Since Shea is older, has that happened to him at all? I sure hope not.

Thanks for sharing.

Carolyn

Holly said...

It is so sad.. I hope bullying awareness comes out of this. There should be a nationwide stop bullying task force... teachers should be trained to watch for it and stop it...

Jake Dillon said...

Agreed.

No, Shea hasn't run into this yet. Thank god. But, Molly sure has. I am nervous for middle school next year.

Kids can be such little sadists. Like the kids in this article. How can they look at themselves in the mirror.

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