$6.4 million lawsuit alleges 10-year-old autistic girl was bullied at Amelia school while staff did nothing

AMELIA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- An Amelia County mother is suing for millions of dollars in damages after she says four Amelia County Elementary School (ACES) staff members knew her autistic child was being bullied, yet did nothing as she was beaten, stabbed, concussed and more.

The lawsuit, filed in the Amelia County Circuit Court, contains detailed accusations of negligence by ACES' principal Lisa Davis, assistant principal Andy Henderson, 5th-grade teacher Katie Elder and special education teacher Maria Stephens.

The mother of then-10-year-old "Jane Doe" is seeking $5 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages for each defendant -- totalling $6.4 million -- after her daughter was reportedly "constantly bullied and tormented" by at least three other students between Aug. 2021 and Feb. 2022.

Davis, Henderson, Elder and Stephens are accused of knowing about this bullying since it began and making repeated promises to put an end to it, yet failing to take action.

"All of the harm that followed to Jane Doe that was caused by the bullies was foreseeable to the defendants," the lawsuit reads.

Six months of assault, harassment and threats

Said bullying began shortly after Jane started at ACES in Aug. 2021, per the lawsuit, when she "came home with bruises and horrible stories of being bullied."

By Oct. 2021, Jane Doe's mother said the bullying was not only impacting her physical health, but her mental health, as well.

"[Her mother told Davis that] Jane Doe was starting to suffer from depression and anxiety as a result of the bullying," the lawsuit reads. "Jane Doe leaves the house crying every morning saying how horrible her day is going to be [and] when she comes home, she is crying about everything that happened that day."

Jane is autistic and her "sensitive developmental issues" made her "particularly vulnerable" to bullying, according to the lawsuit. She had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) at the time of these incidents and her special needs were reportedly known to all defendants.

As outlined by the lawsuit, some of the specific instances of bullying Jane experienced between Aug. 2021 and Feb. 2022 are as follows:

• Aug. 19, 2021: Jane "came home with her fourth bruise that week," saying she was being hit, pushed and kicked by a bully.
• Sept. 2021: Jane came home with bruised legs.
• Oct. 2021: Jane continued to return home with bruises.
• Oct. 2021: Bullies destroyed Jane's school supplies.
• Oct. 2021: Bullies threw basketballs at Jane's head.
• Nov. 2021: A bully stabbed Jane with a pencil and threatened to kill her with a pair of scissors.
• Dec. 1, 2021: A bully threatened to stab Jane with a pair of scissors.
• Dec. 14, 2021: A bully threw a block at Jane's face, injuring her eyes.
• Jan. 6, 2022: A bully threw "ice and/or a snowball" at Jane's face, injuring her.
• Jan. 2022: A bully wrote "FU [Jane Doe's real name]" on a whiteboard and "shov[ed] it in her face." A bully cussed at Jane. A bully pulled on her hair. A bully threw a pencil at her.

On the whole, Jane experienced "severe physical and mental harm, including but not limited to pain, suffering, inconvenience, contusions, a concussion, eye injuries, stab wounds, severe headaches, depression, anxiety, worry, sleeplessness, feelings of hopelessness and suicidal ideations" as a result of the bullying, the lawsuit claims.

Alleged inaction by staff despite many reports

The defendants were informed of the bullying more than a dozen times by Jane's mother and father, as well as Jane, herself, the lawsuit claims. Each time they were informed, the defendants are accused of promising they would keep Jane safe from the bullies.

"[But] the defendants failed to honor their promises, obligations, duties and responsibilities," the lawsuit reads.

More than once, investigations were launched into the bullying -- both by defendants and other ACES staff -- and these investigations reportedly confirmed several instances of bullying each time. However, the lawsuit claims no action was taken.

On multiple separate occasions, Jane received care from the school's nurse for the injuries she suffered at the bullies' hands, per the lawsuit. The nurse reported these incidents to defendants each time.

Jane's parents asked if either Jane or the bullies could switch classes multiple times, the lawsuit claims, but these requests either did not receive a response or were denied. They also asked to meet with the bullies' parents, but were reportedly told by Henderson that "he could not force parents to come in for a meeting."

Months of alleged neglect culminate in 'brutal assault'

On Feb. 22, 2022, the four defendants sat down with Jane's parents for a meeting about the bullying. The lawsuit states that, during this meeting, similar promises to "make sure that the bullies were kept away from Jane Doe, that the bullies would have no contact with Jane Doe [and] that Jane Doe would not be abused."

Elder, Jane's teacher, mentioned how she would be going on maternity leave. She "promised to inform Jane Doe's substitute teacher of the ongoing bullying and directives to keep the bullies away from Jane Doe," the lawsuit states.

However, Elder is accused of failing to do this. The next day, on Feb. 23, 2022, Jane was reportedly left alone, unsupervised, with her bullies. Per the lawsuit, one of them proceeded to attack her, with the assault captured on surveillance video.

"Jane Doe was minding her own business when she was grabbed from behind and subsequently punched multiple times in the face, with all the force the bully could muster," the lawsuit reads.

For this alleged inaction and the resulting suffering Jane experienced, the defendants have been sued for negligence, gross negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

"Defendants' gross negligence demonstrated an indifference to Jan Doe and an utter disregard of prudence that amounted to a complete neglect of Jane Doe's safety," the lawsuit reads. "[Their] negligence is shocking to fair-minded persons. [They] constantly disregarded the rights of Jane Doe."

8News reached out to leadership with Amelia County Public Schools and ACES for a statement and has not heard back as of the time of reporting.

The next court date for this case is set for 9 a.m. on Friday, May 9. A trial by jury will take place in June.