Parents of teen who tried to commit suicide sued a Catholic school in the Bronx, saying administrators were inactive

Parents of teenage girl claim Bronx Catholic school was inactive while their daughter was bullied so severely for several years that she swallowed 120 prescription pills to kill herself, lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges .

Rafael Hernandez, the father of a 15-year-old girl identified as TH in the lawsuit, alleges that he and his wife have repeatedly pleaded with staff at Riverdale’s St. Margaret Cortona Hospital to address the problem of bullying that has spread from elementary to middle school. .

But in their lawsuit, they allege that the school expressed concern but took no action to address the issue, either by stopping it, removing its alleged tormentors from office, or otherwise punishing them.

“We have contacted administrators and faculty several times, there have been a series of incidents,” said Hernandez, 48, a nurse at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. “It was not a safe place for her to study.”

According to Hernandez, the girl first became a target after she had to repeat kindergarten at the suggestion of the school. “The other kids noticed that she was left behind and she felt ashamed,” he said.

At some point in elementary school, other children tied a skipping rope to the girl’s legs, causing her to fall so that her glasses hit her face. She had to treat the cut in the emergency room.

When another school, St. John’s School of Visitation, was closed due to diocese finances, the fourth and eighth grades were merged into St. Margaret’s.

Headmaster Hugh Keenan taught existing parents to be “welcoming and empathetic” to new children. But the new kids also isolated and teased TH, the lawsuit alleges.

“It actually got worse – the bullying got more intense,” Hernandez said.

Students have repeatedly called TH pejorative names. She has been repeatedly called “stupid”, “dumb” and “retarded”, according to the lawsuit.

In the fifth grade, she became more isolated. In April 2019, other girls at the school posed as a boy, TH was likable to other students and then rejected her, the lawsuit alleges.

The teacher’s solution was simply to get the girls to apologize. But they were not punished, the lawsuit claims.

During the pandemic, the girl’s grades improved because she was in a Zoom class, not at school, to be bullied. But when it ended, the school refused to allow her to continue her Zoom classes, and teased her again.

Her mom wrote Keenan a note about the situation. “She stopped attending classes for fear of ridicule,” the worried mom wrote. “We gave her all the emotional and professional help we could. However, especially cruel words that cause such deep pain cannot be tolerated. Please treat this delicately. “

Keenan took no action, Hernandez said. “He actually made things worse because he told my daughter to tell him what she wanted him to do,” he said. “Then she was so afraid to speak.”

The ordeal came to a head in late 2021 when TH stayed overnight at a friend’s house. The friend was silent with her, then took T.Kh’s phone. and started sending “flirtatious” messages to the two boys. TH was embarrassed, the lawsuit alleges.

TH told her parents and then on January 7, 2022, she received more than a dozen angry messages from a “friend” accusing her of lying and being “talkative,” the lawsuit says.

TH, the lawsuit alleges, then swallowed about eighty tablets from a bottle containing her father’s blood pressure medication, plus 20 antidepressant tablets and 20 Motrin tablets.

She began to vomit repeatedly, and her parents – the girl’s mother is also a nurse – took her to the hospital. “We took her to the car and raced down the highway to Columbia Presbyterian,” Hernandez said. “Perhaps this was the most vulnerable spot in my life. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

Three days T.Kh. spent in the hospital, and when she got better, her parents began to think about a lawsuit. “I was so angry about what happened,” Hernandez said. “Last night I told my daughter, “You are the hero of this story. You can’t let that happen to another girl.” She feels like she’s helping, and that’s it.”

Mark Sheerian, who represents the family along with Sanford Rubinstein, said it doesn’t matter if the bullying happened inside or outside of school. School actions.

“It is very clear that the parents have gone to great lengths to make sure she is in a safe learning environment,” said family attorney Mark Sheerian, who is leading the case with Sanford Rubenstein.

“The question is what did the school do, especially after the principal found out about the situation.”

According to her father, she is now a 9th grade public high school student in Westchester County. Her grades improved and she had a good circle of friends.

“She is 100% happier and adapts very well,” Hernandez said. “The difference lies in the competent leadership at her current school.”