Ohio District school agrees to pay $3M to the family of an 8-year-old who killed himself after being repeatedly bullied at school. The agreement was announced on Friday, and the school also agreed to prevent such bullying in the near future. The school management also says that the students will be trained, and staff will supervise students on anti-bullying reforms and identify repeat offenders and victims.
Gabriel, a third-grade student, was found unconscious in the restroom and the video footage shows that he was unconscious for at least seven minutes. Some children passed by making fun of him by pointing fingers, and some even kicked him. His parents were unaware of this incident so they sent him back to school after two days. Gabriel was bullied again. So he went back to his home and took one of his neckties and hanged himself from his trunk bed.
Gabriel’s parents filed a lawsuit against the Cincinnati public school for covering up the bullying that led to their child’s death. The lawsuit claimed that Gabriel suffered physical abuse several times by their classmates multiple times. Even two days before his death, Gabriel was pushed into a bathroom wall. The lawsuit and settlement ended after the school agreed to pay $3 million and agreed on all anti-bullying reforms. A memorial to Gabriel will also be built at the elementary school he attended.
Gabriel’s parents have fought hard for four years and they have even launched Gabriel Taye Foundation as a way of creating awareness “for every child or teen who has or is suffering as a result of bullying.”
