Diego Stolz.Photo:Will Lester/The Orange County Register via AP
Will Lester/The Orange County Register via AP
The brutal September 2019 attack, which was captured on video, shows the moment when two teenage boys confronted Stolz in the school’s lunchroom, the statement says. In the clip, Stolz is seen with his hands at his sides before one of the bullies sucker-punches him, knocking Stolz to the ground, where his head strikes a concrete pillar. One of the bullies continues to punch Stolz as he’s laying on the ground. Stolz suffered a traumatic brain injury and died nine days later.
Per the statement, relatives of Stolz said the boy was a regular victim of bullying and filed a lawsuit shortly after his death, which they say was preventable if the school had an anti-bullying policy in place.
The boy’s family claimed that one day before the attack, the eighth-grader sought the help of his science teacher after being sucker punched in the head, the statement says. Officials apparently promised to review the footage to find out who did it, but that never happened.
On the day of the fatal attack, one of Stolz’s family members accompanied the boy to see the assistant principal, who reportedly said she knew who the bullies were, and that they would receive suspensions for their actions, according to the statement.
“The Assistant Principal also promised to switch around those boys’ schedules so they would not have any classes with Diego,” the statement says. “She sent Diego home early that Friday, believing he would be safe. When Diego returned to school on Monday, September 16, 2019, the bullies had not been suspended, and the security footage still had not been reviewed.”
“Neither Diego nor his guardians were informed of this,” the statement continues. “They certainly never reported it to any law enforcement agencies.”
The two 13-year-old boys accused in the beating death of Stolz spent 47 days in juvenile custody after entering what is similar to guilty pleas for involuntary manslaughter and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, perKTLAandNBC Los Angeles.
According to CBS News, they were also ordered to undergo anger management therapy.
The win was regarded in the law firm’s statement as the “largest school bullying settlement in U.S. history.”
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“Schools need to realize that bullying can never be tolerated and that any complaints of bullying and assault must be taken seriously,” he adds. “Diego’s death was preventable if this school had simply prioritized an anti-bullying policy.”
According toCBS News, the district said previously that it has since changed its bullying reporting system and its training for employees, and replaced the school’s principal and assistant principal.
source: people.com
