According to the lawsuit, Emilie, an Asian-American, was “continually bullied, harassed, assaulted, battered and discriminated against in school, and further bullied and harassed online because of her race, national origin and gender, as well as her association with Caucasian students and her perceived sexual orientation and practices.
Click here to read the lawsuit.
“Emilie’s parents tried to stop the bullying and pleaded with certain defendants for help. Defendants failed to stop the bullying and it continued. Consequently, Emilie suffered severe anguish, distress and depression and ultimately committed suicide,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also says Emilie wasn’t the only victim.
“Other students suffered unrelenting bullying and discrimination and two of those students attempted suicide before Emilie’s death. Certain of the defendants likewise failed to intervene on behalf of these students,” according to the lawsuit.
The bullying started when Emilie was a fifth-grader at Fairfield Intermediate School and continued through the seventh grade at Fairfield Middle School, the lawsuit said.
Marc and Cynthia Olsen, Emilie's parents, told the Journal-News last year, just days after Emilie's death, that their daughter endured physical and cyber bullying while a student at the middle school and in the previous year while at the Fairfield City Schools intermediate school. While many of her friends also said she was bullied, Fairfield Twp. police said they could not prove it because very few people were cooperating with their investigation.
Fairfield schools has come under fire from parents and members of the local Asian American community for the district's perceived lack of action on bullying. Despite repeated assurances from the district that they are taking matters seriously and have been working to prevent bullying even before Emilie's death, many in the community remain skeptical.
The lawsuit seeks damages and reforms to the district’s bulling policies.
Fairfield City Schools spokeswoman Gina Gentry-Fletcher said school officials are aware a lawsuit has been filed against the district, as well as a number of additional defendants. But she said the district has yet to receive a copy of the suit and are unaware of the specific allegations.
“The district will be defending the litigation and will be providing appropriate responses in the course of the litigation,” Gentry-Fletcher said.
This article contains reporting by Staff Writer Michael D. Pitman and our news partner WCPO 9 On Your Side.
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