The parents of a New Jersey who killed herself filed a lawsuit against the Rockaway Township Board of Education on Tuesday after alleging the school did nothing to protect their daughter from incessant bullying.
ABC7 reports the Mallory Grossman, 12, committed suicide on June 14, 2017. According to court documents, Mallory endured “ongoing and systematic bullying” while enrolled at Copeland Middle School in Rockaway, New Jersey. The girl’s parents, Dianne and Seth Grossman, filed a suit against the Rockaway Township Board of Education, along with its staff members, a little over a year after the tragic incident occurred.
Court documents revealed that the plaintiffs alleged that on least 14 different occasions, Molly was bullied by students at the school. The school’s staff members reportedly didn’t intervene and didn’t take the proper measures to stop it. The parents claimed they brought up the issue with school officials and expressed their daughter “suffered” at school, yet, nothing was done to stop the bullying.
“One year ago, on June 14, sixth-grader Mallory Grossman, who attended Copeland Middle School in Rockaway [died by suicide] and she did so after being relentlessly bullied by four of her classmates,” the family’s attorney Bruce Nagel said.
“You have no friends,” a text sent to Mallory by another student read, according to court documents.
“When are you going to kill yourself?” the same student later asked Mallory while in front of a group of other students.
Laundry day…A typical normal Sunday, In the last 8 months I’d get excited, I might find her random socks or…
Posted by Mallory's Army on Sunday, February 18, 2018
When Mallory sat alone during school lunches, she was “ostracized” so much that she began eating lunch in the guidance counselor’s office, according to court documents.
Dianne watched her daughter’s grades fall while the little girl began losing interest in things she once enjoyed, even dropping out of choir, something she once loved, in an attempt to avoid bullies. Dianne said she pleaded and pleaded for a change at the school but nothing happened.
“I wanted them to take swift and effective action,” Grossman said.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the family stated their intent to sue the school last August, but ended up filing the lawsuit on Tuesday.
Dianne indicated that her daughter’s bullies still have not been punished.
“We know that the poor behavior and poor decisions these kids make has not changed. They do not believe ultimately that they are responsible for it. Our family is forever changed because they chose not to put systems in place, they chose not to protect her.”
So far, the school district has not publicly commented.
For more information on Mallory, click here for the Facebook group, “Mallory’s Army.”
[Feature Photo: Mallory Grossman/Handout]