The family of a 12-year-old New Jersey girl who took her own life in June is suing the school district she attended, saying she was relentlessly bullied for months.
The family was expected to announce Tuesday that they’re suing the Rockaway Township school district because they say it did nothing to stop months of bullying that led to Mallory Grossman’s suicide.
Grossman was an accomplished cheerleader and gymnast who family and friends say was well-liked and sociable. But her family’s attorney says she was tortured by several girls online.
The day Grossman committed suicide, her mother had gone to the school to complain — yet again — that her daughter was being relentlessly bullied.
In a statement, the Grossman family attorney said they will sue the Rockaway Township district for “gross negligence in failing to stop the cyberbullying of 12-year-old Mallory Grossman, who committed suicide after months of relentless bullying by Snapchat and text messages from several of her classmates.”
The Grossman family attorney added that the parents of the girls who bullied Mallory will also be held responsible but did not provide further details.
The Rockaway Township school district had no comment, but in a self-assessment last year it gave Copeland Middle School an A grade of 94 percent for how it dealt with bullying at the school, including in the areas of curriculum and instruction, investigation procedures, and incident reporting.
Morris County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Fred Snowflack said Monday that the investigation into Grossman’s suicide is still under investigation.
Grossman’s former gymnastics coach remembered her as a good student and athlete who was popular among her peers.
“Wonderful child – sweet, smart, kind, quiet,” coach Paula Gehman said.
According to her obituary, Grossman loved the outdoors and would often donate her own money and handmade jewelry for sick children.
If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting ‘Home’ to 741741.
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