Florida Parents Sue School District Over Daughter’s ‘Sexting’ Suicide

April 15, 2011

The parents of a 13-year-old Tampa girl who hanged herself after enduring classmates’ taunts over a revealing photo texted to a boy have sued the school district.

The parents of Hope Witsell filed a federal lawsuit this week, accusing the school district of violating the civil rights of them and their daughter. They say school personnel saw signs that Hope was distraught and could have prevented the suicide.

The lawsuit said school officials knew Hope was the victim of “extraordinary ridicule and harassment” because of the “sexting” incident in the fall of 2009 at Beth Shields Middle School.

Hope had texted a partially nude picture of herself to a boy, and the photo was passed along to other classmates.

A school district spokeswoman declined to comment on pending litigation.

Topics Lawsuits Florida Education

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Latest Comments

  • April 18, 2011 at 11:47 am
    youngin' says:
    Did the school officials know that the photos were being circulated? If they knew about it, they should have contacted the parents. Did they? Real question for all you assumer... read more
  • April 16, 2011 at 9:12 am
    wudchuck says:
    it all goes back to accountability. first of all, why does a child at 13 need a phone? for that matter a camera phone? our society feels that we need to give our kids elect... read more
  • April 15, 2011 at 4:11 pm
    TAR says:
    This is a very sad situation for the parents, losing a 13 yr old is devastating. Having said that, why is there liability on the part of the school district? If the article ... read more

Add a CommentSee All Comments (9)Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

More News
More News Features