One year after a bullied and beaten 14-year-old's suicide, family sues New Jersey school district
BERKELEY, N.J. — The family of a high school freshman who died by suicide after she was beaten and cyber-bullied by fellow students is suing the school district for failing to protect her.
Thursday will mark one year since Adriana Kuch was attacked and beaten in Central Regional High School by classmates who filmed the assault and posted the video on social media. Two days later, on Feb. 3, 2023, Adriana's family found her body in their home.
On Monday, the Kuch family filed a lawsuit claiming Central Regional School District officials were aware of a culture of violence in the school, but failed to protect Adriana from physical assault and public humiliation that ultimately led to her suicide. The lawsuit said district officials failed to follow procedures laid out in the New Jersey anti-bullying statute after they knew about the attack and video and failed to investigate the incident in a timely manner.
"Adriana was the light of our lives, and one year after her horrific and needless death, we are still waiting for justice," her father, Michael Kuch Sr., said in a news release.
The lawsuit also accused former Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides of defamation and violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that limits who can access student school and academic records. Parlapanides allegedly told the Daily Mail of London intimate details about Kuch family life, details the lawsuit said were false and defamatory.
Parlapanides faced intense criticism after the article published and resigned from his $190,100 a year job a week after Adriana's death.
"Michael Kuch and his family have experienced so much heartache and tragedy already, and the gross negligence of school officials – followed by the superintendent’s cruel, insensitive, and defamatory remarks – only compound their pain," the family's lawyer, William Krais, said.
Central Regional's new Superintendent Michelle CarneyRay-Yoder said she had not yet seen the lawsuit and so could not comment.
"Further, since this would be a matter involving litigation, the Board (of Education) will be limited in what it can comment on publicly," she said in an email to the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Krais said school officials have a responsibility to protect students and to act when others misbehave. Despite social media's role in spreading the video of Adriana's attack, school officials were still responsible for protecting her, the attorney said.
"It's the school that has to be held accountable," he said. "And it's the school that has to take responsibility for its failings. Adriana Kuch didn't take her life because of TikTok. Adriana Kuch took her life, because she was physically attacked. She was attacked online. And the school failed to protect her."
Earlier this year, Central Regional's school board announced it would join a class action lawsuit against some of the largest social media companies over their impacts on youth, according to reports by the news websites Patch and Jersey Shore Online.
"The lawsuit does not seek an end to the social media platforms, but rather seeks to change how these companies operate, and hopefully compel them to take responsibility and make changes," Board President Susan Cowdrick said during the January school board meeting, according to Patch.
Contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or go online at 988Lifeline.org.
Amanda Oglesby has worked for USA TODAY Network's Asbury Park Press for more than a decade and can be reached at aoglesby@gannettnj.com or on X @OglesbyAPP.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Adriana Kuch family sues New Jersey schools after bullying and suicide
