Lawsuit: School District Liable for Bullying That Turned Deadly
Kayla Cuevas' mother claims her daughter was "subjected to continuous and ongoing bullying" for years while a student in Brentwood, New York. The numerous incidents happened on school grounds in the Brentwood Union School District and were perpetrated by MS-13 gang members, Evelyn Rodriguez claims, with full knowledge of the school district.
Cuevas was killed, allegedly by MS-13 members, in September 2016, and Rodriguez is suing the school district, claiming it failed to stop the bullying and protect her daughter from gang violence. You can see the lawsuit below:
Deadly Bullying
The alleged bullying spanned two years and several school campuses and summer programs. It began with in September 2014 with Cuevas having her pants pulled down in the middle of a hallway, being called names, taunted, and threatened, and including spitting and obscene hand gestures.
During summer school classes in 2015, Cuevas was "assaulted by another student at the school who was known to be a member of the MS13 gang" and "threatened with a knife" by another gang member/student, that the lawsuit refers to as "Student A." Despite assurances that the student who threatened her would not be back on campus, the lawsuit claims he was at school the first day of the next year.
Student A, along with "other students known to be members of the MS-13 gang," allegedly threatened Cuevas' life on September 8, 2016, making throat-slashing gestures towards her. The lawsuit goes on:
That on or about September 13, 2016, KAYLA CUEVAS was walking on or about BRENTWOOD UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT school grounds when she was accosted by "Student A" and several other members of the MS-13 gang some of which were students of the BRENTWOOD UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
KAYLA CUEVAS was ultimately chased off school grounds and brutally mutilated and murdered.
Four people have been charged with Cuevas' murder, and have pleaded not guilty. Rodriguez's lawsuit is seeking $10 million for each of 11 claims against the school district. You can read the lawsuit in full, here:
Evelyn Rodriguez v. Brentwood Union Free School District by FindLaw on Scribd