Four students at a New Jersey high school who were caught on video carrying out an attack a classmate who killed herself days later have been criminally charged, NBC News reported.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a statement Friday that one student was charged with aggravated assault, another with harassment and two others with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. The names of those charged have not been released because they are minors. The students have been released from custody before their future court dates.
The arrests are the latest development in the case involving Adriana Kuch, 14, who was found dead in her home on Feb. 3, after a video went viral showing her being attacked and beaten in a school hallway. The four students involved in the assault have been suspended, Central Regional School District Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said.
From NBC News: Adriana’s father, Michael Kuch, said in Facebook posts and to NBC New York that several students attacked his daughter while walking with her boyfriend in the hallway.
He wrote on Facebook that a video of the fight was posted online and Adriana, a freshman, had been tagged in it. He said he believes it was posted to “make fun of her online.”
Kuch expressed outrage over the school’s handling of the incident, telling NBC New York that police were never called even though Adriana blacked out and had bruises on her body.
Parlapanides told NBC News on Friday that police were notified and that “teachers and safety officers intervened” in the fight. He declined to provide further details about the involved students or the fight.
“It is a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family,” Parlapanides said in an emailed statement.
“Adriana took her own life because nobody at the school was able to help or care or step in,” sophomore Roman Valez told NBC New York. “I would actually like to teach the people who bully what they’re actually doing and how it affects.”
