Sunday, July 28, 2013

Girl, 15, blamed in teen bullying suicide for 'encouraging three boys to rape drunk classmate, take pictures and post them on internet'

A new classmate has been implicated in the death of a 15-year-old girl who committed suicide after  three boys allegedly sexually assaulted her and circulated photos of the abuse online.

Audrie Pott hanged herself in September, about a week after passing out drunk at a party at a friend's house in Northern California.

The 15-year-old said boys she had known for years took off her clothes and sexually assaulted her, including writing and drawing on intimate parts of her body and taking cellphone photos of their actions, according to authorities.
Audrie Pott's family recently added a 15-year-old girl to their lawsuit alleging she was present in the room when the assault occurred and encouraged the boys 'to expose and/or photograph and/or draw on Audrie's body', according to the amended lawsuit. 
Shocking
Shocking: Audrie Pott's family has filed a lawsuit against the boys who allegedly assaulted the 15-year-old. A female classmate has recently been added to the suit
Grieving: Sheila Pott stands in front of a portrait of her daughter Audrie who committed suicide last year
Grieving: Sheila Pott stands in front of a portrait of her daughter Audrie who committed suicide last year

Accusations:
Accusations: The Potts allege that bullying played a major role in Audrie's life even before she was assaulted by three students in September of 2012
Audrie tried to confront the boys accused of attacking her online, and posted her feelings about it on social media.
'I have a reputation for a night I don't even remember and the whole school knows,' she wrote in one Facebook message to a friend.

'I cried when I found out what they did,' she wrote in another.

Attorney Robert Allard initially sued the boys and the adult couple in Santa Clara County Superior Court, alleging battery, defamation, wrongful death and several other claims.

The suit seeks unspecified damages.
The new defendant, identified only as Jane C. because she is a minor, encouraged the assault and the taking of pictures.
She then buttoned and zipped Audrie Pott's shorts, covered her with a blanket and left her alone, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Jane C. lied about her involvement to cover up the assault.

Resting place: Students at Saratoga High School believe that photos of Audrie after the assault were not widely distributed around the school
Resting place: Students at Saratoga High School believe that photos of Audrie after the assault were not widely distributed around the school
The boys are also identified only by their first names and an initial because of their ages. They have also been charged criminally with sexual battery, dissemination of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Days after the party, Audrie Pott saw a group of students at Saratoga High School huddled around a cellphone and realized that at least one humiliating photo of her was circulating, according to police reports.

The family and authorities say the assault occurred at the Saratoga home of Michael Penuen and Sheila Penuen, who left their teen daughter behind while they went out of town.

The Penuens' daughter, whom AP has not named, told her parents she was spending the night at Audrie Pott's home.

Instead, several teens gathered at the Penuens' home and drank alcohol. A woman answering the Penuen's home phone on Saturday declined comment and hung up. It is not clear whether the daughter is involved in the suit.

Eight days after the party, Audrie Pott called and asked her mother to pick her up at school. She said she couldn't deal with it anymore but would not say what was wrong. She later hanged herself in her home.
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Demanding answers: Larry Pott and Audrie's stepmother Lisa pose with a photo of the teenager

Lessons learned: According to the Potts they came forward with Audrie's story to raise awareness about cyber-bullying and assault
Lessons learned: According to the Potts they came forward with Audrie's story to raise awareness about cyber-bullying and assault
Audrie's family spoke to The Mercury News about their daughter's death in May.

'She was picked on because she was pretty, because she was popular, because she was nice,' said her father.

The parents also claim that they came to school officials about the bullying, which they allege started when Audrie first came into the school as a freshman.

Officials from Saratoga High School have maintained that 'the issue of bullying was not the subject covered in those conversations'.
An article by The Saratoga Falcon, the student-run newspaper for the high school, portrays a different story than the rampant knowledge of the photos and assault.

After interviewing dozens of students reporters write that 'around ten' students actually saw those photos and none were uploaded to Facebook. 

Lawsuit: Sheila Pott has accused Saratoga High School about being more concerned with their image than seeking justice for Audrie
Lawsuit: Sheila Pott has accused Saratoga High School about being more concerned with their image than seeking justice for Audrie
Sasan Sadaat, a student officer at Saratoga High School, spoke with the three reporters covering the story. 
'I certainly don't think that the photos the media has been discussing or details of the events were in any way widespread and common knowledge to most SHS students. Most students like myself learned of the events after the news brought it up.'
During a press conference about those charges Larry Pott said: 'With no assault, with no cyber-bullying, Audrie is in art class right now.'

Their suit claims that school officials were negligent and mishandled the bullying which Pott endured just before her suicide.

'[Audrie] was subjected to atrocities committed by her classmates and then subjected to humiliation and shame through bullying on her campus.'
Sheila Pott has spoken of the pressures faced from making these accusations in such an affluent and well-known community.

'Oh my God, if we get a bad reputation, our property values will go down. It's that shallow.'

The three boys accused of assaulting Audrie were arrested on charges of sexual battery and distribution of child pornography.

Last month they were released from a juvenile detention center and ordered into house arrest as they await trial.

dailymail.co.uk

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