A teenager commits suicide days after being attacked at school. Now his family is suing the school board

(CNN) — Almost exactly a year ago, 14-year-old Adriana Kuch was attacked by a group of teenagers in the hallway of Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, New Jersey. No one expected that it would be the last week of his life.

Adriana had been a victim of bullying prior to the attack on February 1, 2023, according to her family. The horrific attack was recorded on video and quickly uploaded to social media, where Adriana was subjected to further insults and cyberbullying.

Less than two days later, Adriana killed herself at her home “as a result of emotional distress, humiliation and shame,” according to a lawsuit filed by her family this week against the Central Regional Board of Education, whose former superintendent of the school district and others.

“Adriana was the light of our lives, and one year after her horrific and unnecessary death, we are still waiting for justice,” her father, Michael Kuch, said in a statement provided by the family’s lawyer.

Adriana Kuch was a “funny girl that we always liked to be around,” said her sister-in-law Jennifer Farrow. (Image courtesy of Michael Kuch)

“It is clear that this school has a serious bullying problem that none of the school administrators care to admit or address.”

Defendants in the lawsuit include a regional board of education; to Triantaphilos Parlapanides, who was superintendent of the school district at the time of the attack; to Irene Marosis, principal of Central Regional High School at the time; and Daryl Hill, who was the school’s assistant principal and “anti-bullying specialist” at the time, according to the lawsuit.

CNN has reached out to each of the defendants for comment.

Four teenagers face criminal charges in connection with the attack. One was charged with aggravated assault, two faced charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and a fourth was charged with harassment. CNN asked the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday for updated information on those criminal cases.

According to her father, Michael Kuch, Adrianna Kuch suffered bruises after being attacked at school. (Image courtesy of Michael Kuch)

What the video shows

In a video obtained and reviewed by CNN, Adriana was hit in the face with a water bottle several times in a hallway. It also shows Adriana punching and kicking. The high school freshman was bruised and briefly lost consciousness, his father later testified.

The pictures were published on social networks including TikTok on the same day. Hateful comments and online harassment led to Adriana’s suicide, according to her father.

“Adriana did not take her own life on TikTok,” said family attorney Bill Kreis. “They attacked him physically, they attacked him online, and the school didn’t protect him.”

What the lawsuit alleges

The civil suit, filed Monday, accuses the defendants of negligence, defamation and infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit also alleges that the then-superintendent invaded the family’s privacy by making false statements about their family history, including allegations of infidelity and drug use.

School boards are “responsible for supervising, controlling, and training employees in matters of harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and are responsible for developing, implementing, and disseminating policies and programs against harassment, intimidation, and bullying, pursuant to the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Statute,” Civil suit says.

It also says the defendants “knew or should have known that physical assaults and assaults at their schools, particularly within Central Regional High School, were being recorded and posted on various social networks by other students, contrary to school policy.” School Council”.

And although the school board’s policy allowed the defendants to “search and seize student cell phones used to record and post such physical assaults and assaults, thereby minimizing the risk of such recordings being widely distributed on social media,” they did. . do not follow that policy,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also alleges that the superintendent did not file criminal charges against the attackers at the time.

“Based on information and belief, the decision not to file criminal charges against the assaulting students was made, according to defendant Parlapanides, in order not to burden the assaulting students with a ‘double penalty,’ i.e. potential disciplinary action. Both school authorities and the law enforcement,” the lawsuit says.

Parlapanides resigned as superintendent after Adriana’s death, while parents and students demanded that the school improve its handling of bullying.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, but does not specify an amount.

“Under New Jersey law, a party is not permitted to seek a specific amount of damages in a lawsuit,” said Krais, an attorney representing the Kuch family. “That said, we are seeking punitive damages sufficient to punish the egregious conduct of the superintendent and other school officials in the wake of the incidents,” he said.

Why did the other family sue?

According to another lawsuit filed in October 2022, more than a year before Adriana’s death, another 14-year-old girl at the same school was also assaulted after she reported threats to the school.

Although the teenager was not named in the lawsuit, his mother confirmed that her daughter Olivia O’Dea is the lead plaintiff in the case.

In January 2022, according to the lawsuit, Olivia was physically assaulted by two teenagers, one of whom sent her threatening text messages. The attack was allegedly filmed by a teenager who threatened Olivia and who later posted the video on a social media platform, the suit states.

Olivia’s mother, Rachel O’Day, told CNN that her daughter was hit about 30 times in the head, neck and back of the head and suffered significant concussions. According to the mother, the girl received treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and six months of physical therapy.

The defendants in O’Dea’s case are the Central Regional School District and the school’s principal and vice principal at the time. Last year, an attorney representing the Central Regional School District, Central Regional Board of Education, principal and vice principal filed a response to the lawsuit denying the allegations. CNN has also reached out to the defendants for comment.

The O’Dea family’s civil case is currently in the discovery phase, attorney Jonathan Atman told CNN on Tuesday. He said the former superintendent, Parlapanides, was also added to the list of defendants.

O’Dea expressed his condolences to Adriana’s family, saying the tragedy they endured should never have happened.

“It’s devastating that these parents are living every parent’s worst nightmare,” O’Dea said. “This could have been avoided.”

How to Get Help for a Suicidal Person

Call on 1-800-273-8255 Or text “talk” to 741741 or 988 To contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the United States. Provides free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week for people in suicidal crisis or distress. You can also call 1-800-273-8255 Talk to someone about how you can help someone in crisis. Call on 1-866-488-7386 For TrevorLifeline, a suicide prevention counseling service for the LGBTQ community.