GREENFIELD — A student was jumped by two other girls last week in a hallway at Greenfield Central Junior High School, while a third recorded the incident and posted video online, the victim’s mother said.
The girl ended up in the hospital with a concussion, and she is still suffering lingering effects from the attack, which occurred on Thursday, Oct. 22, her mother said.
The family was informed Thursday morning that charges have been filed after an investigation by the Greenfield Police Department. Capt. Chuck McMichael, public information officer with GPD, earlier said charges of battery were recommended as part of a report to prosecutors.
Prosecutor Brent Eaton said he cannot speak about cases involving juveniles, even to confirm whether charges have been filed, but he noted his office takes the safety of all county students seriously.
“If there is a crime and we have evidence to support that, we move forward,” Eaton said.
Any charges in a case like this are normally misdemeanor battery offenses, Eaton noted.
The victim and the girls who attacked her have a long, tumultuous history, the victim’s mother said. Her daughter has been bullied by at least one of the girls since elementary school, she added. The dispute reached a boiling point Oct. 22 in a school hallway with two girls attacking her.
In a 16-second video that was made by a third student and obtained by the family, the victim is shown being cornered by one student, who is soon joined by a second girl as they strike the victim repeatedly in the head and shoulders. The victim falls to the floor as she tries to get away from her attackers, who finally break off the assault and walk away. The video reportedly was posted to social media but then taken down.
“Our daughter is suffering from a concussion,” the victim’s mother said. “She still has pain on her head and chest area, headaches and even more anxiety than before.”
The woman said the families, who live near each other, do not get along and that neighborhood and family issues carried over into school.
Ron Ross, dean of students at the junior high, said that due to privacy laws, district officials are unable to speak about a particular incident or students involved. But he explained how school officials handle such situations generally.
In an email to the Daily Reporter, Ross said every report of bullying is taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.
“When warranted, consequences are assigned in accordance with the student handbook,” Ross said. “We cannot deny a student from attending school unless they are suspended or expelled. In making those disciplinary decisions, students must be afforded due process. Every situation is a little different and therefore requires a different solution.”
Maintaining a safe and secure learning environment is a top priority for district officials, Ross said.
The victim’s mother shared emails between the family and school officials from August expressing their concerns about their daughter’s safety following a previous incident involving the same students. The girl’s grandfather shared emails from February expressing concern that “There is bullying and fighting occurring that led up to a full day of detention for (the victim) and and her attacker without parental notification.”
“We’re not sure what the administration is going to do,” the victim’s mother said. “They have made promises to keep her safe before, and that didn’t happen.”
The family is investigating the possibility of getting a restraining order against the girls who beat up their daughter. The family also is considering moving out of the area if the issue is not addressed.
In the meantime, the victim will be attending school, but will do so in a virtual-learning classroom with a teacher in the room to assist. She will attend one class in person, but she is supposed to have an escort to and from that classroom. The rest of the day, she will be in the safe classroom with its own entrance into the building so she will no longer be around any of the students who have bullied her, the mother said.
