A Gilroy family is speaking out about what happened to their middle school daughter. They say she was bullied, then beat up by other students on campus.
Now, they’re taking the school district to court.
A video posted on social media is at the center of a new lawsuit filed on June 30 in Santa Clara County. The lawsuit says the girl being pulled by her hair and punched in that video was an 11-year-old student at Solorsano Middle School in Gilroy.
In this lawsuit, the plaintiff is named as 'Jane Doe' to protect her identity.
Her parents spoke with NBC Bay Area over the phone on Thursday.
"There [were] the physical injuries when she had a concussion,” her father explained, noting that there were also psychological impacts of this attack for his daughter too.
Jane's parents said this attack happened on campus, in between classes on January 30, 2023. Her parents said that after this attack, they had to take Jane to the emergency room for treatment.
Since then, the parents say they've enrolled Jane in a new school. They note that she has been physically and emotionally impacted by what happened to her.
"For the first few months, you know, it was hard to get her to come out of her room, associate with people again,” her father explained.
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Jane's parents believe this all could have been avoided.
They say they contacted the school several times with concerns before the attack happened.
"The students that assaulted her, we brought that to [the school district's] attention, we sat down with the school district, we shared with them online messages and text messages,” Jane's father said.
Jane's family has filed a lawsuit for more than $25,000 in damages, alleging battery and negligence.
They're suing both Gilroy Unified School District and another girl who they allege led the group to attack Jane.
Because of her age, this plaintiff is named as “Melanie Doe” in the lawsuit. NBC Bay Area hasn't been able to identify her or reach out to her parents for comment.
"I saw the video and I just couldn’t believe how egregious it was," said attorney Mark Boskovich with Corsiglia McMahon & Allard.
Boskovich is representing Jane and her family in this suit. He says there's not much legal precedent for cases like this, but he plans to argue that there should be.
"We have to teach our kids early on it's not acceptable, we can’t just give them light slaps on the wrist, we need to be more assertive in our discipline when kids commit horrendous acts like this," Boskovich said.
The Gilroy Unified School District sent NBC Bay Area the following statement on Thursday:
"The Gilroy Unified School District takes all allegations of harassment, bullying, or abuse of any kind very seriously and is committed to the safety of all students and staff as its first priority. The District does not comment on pending litigation, and will refrain from doing so on the referenced incident. The District will respond to the legal complaint appropriately and as required by law. "
